The Vietnamese Are Trying To Revive Lobster Production in Cuba

It is a small hatchery in Villa Clara, with a production of only 816 kilograms for export.

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Madrid, April 16, 2025 / In the midst of the unprecedented crisis gripping the country, any minimal achievement is cause for celebration in the state-run press. One example is the “trial” being conducted by the state-owned company Cahamar in Quemado de Güines, Villa Clara, with Vietnamese assistance, to produce lobster for export, a project publicized this week by local media.

A year and a half after the project started, the head of fishing operations at this basic economic unit, Rufino Rodríguez Sarduy, is pleased with the results achieved: “To date we have a survival rate of zero mortality, that is to say, our lobster is in very good vitality, one hundred percent.”

So far, they have sold, “in three phases,” a total of 816 kilograms of lobster for export, “with an average weight of 573 grams.” These numbers are laughable, considering the 136 tons of lobster the island harvested in 2024 and that the average expected weight for a Cuban lobster typically exceeds 700 grams. This is even more striking when compared to the 1980s, when the annual average was 11,565 tons. In the 1990s, the catch dropped to an average of 9,327 tons, and between 2000 and 2007 it fell to 6,262 tons annually. Since then, it has continued to decline.

Cahamar authorities hope to “continue working with partners in Vietnam” and increase breeding capacity by 20 cages.

Cahamar authorities, however, hope to “continue working with our partners in Vietnam” and increase breeding capacity by 20 cages, highlighting the importance of the sector to the national economy.

When the official press reported on the progress of this agreement, exactly one year ago, it referred to it as an “experimental project for lobster farming in floating cages,” with Vietnamese “technical advice” and the objective of “strengthening food security” and “generating exports.”

So, after six months, they had 1,500 developing specimens, distributed among six cages, gaining 120 grams per month, according to Rodríguez Sarduy himself at the time. If these figures were accurate, those lobsters would now weigh more than a kilogram, not nearly half that amount, as the official recently stated on provincial radio.

The trial, in any case, is part of the third phase of the specific agreement signed between Havana and Hanoi called Supporting Cuba in Aquaculture Phase, which has existed since 2009 and one of whose purposes is precisely the development of farms of the main cultivation species, not only lobster but also shrimp.

This expertise is sorely needed in the seafood sector, whose production has collapsed in recent years.

The arrival of experts from Vietnam—one of the island’s main benefactors —has yielded positive results in other production sectors, notably rice. The Vietnamese company Agri VMA was the first foreign company to obtain a land lease, specifically for 1,000 hectares in Palacios (Pinar del Río), with the intention of expanding to 5,000 hectares within three years. On this land, they are cultivating a much more productive rice variety than their Cuban counterparts, with yields exceeding 7.2 tons per hectare, compared to the 2 or 2.5 tons per hectare achieved by producers on the island .

This expertise is sorely needed in the seafood sector, whose production has plummeted in recent years . Shrimp production, which reached 6,900 tons in 2019, fell to just 1,100 tons in 2024, an 84% decrease. As for lobster, tail production dropped by 45% in five years (from 136 to 248.6 tons). The 2025 figures, which have not yet been released, are not expected to be any better.

The fire that ravaged the Industrial Fishing Company in La Coloma, Pinar del Río, last October foreshadows this, given that the plant is responsible for 45% of Cuba’s lobster catch and 80% of its bonito, both high-value products on the national market (in dollars) and the international market. Preliminary estimates from authorities indicated that 110 million pesos —more than $200,000 at today’s informal exchange rate—would be needed to repair the damage, “a good portion of which would be in foreign currency.”

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When the Sugar Mill Stopped Grinding Cane, Life Died in Tuinucú, Cuba

The silence that now dominates the batey is not only industrial: it is also electrical, economic, and emotional.

The Melanio Hernández sugar mill in Tuinucú, Sancti Spíritus, has been shut down for three weeks. / 14ymedio/Courtesy

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Natalia López Moya/Mercedes García, Havana/Tuinucú, April 16, 2025 / The two chimneys of the Tuinucú sugar mill still stand out against the blue sky of the Sancti Spíritus plains, but they no longer emit smoke or announce the start of a new day of grinding. The silence that now reigns in the village is not only industrial: it is also electrical, economic, and emotional. Since the mill stopped grinding sugarcane a few weeks ago, daily life in this town of more than 5,000 inhabitants has changed abruptly, marked by prolonged blackouts and the feeling that the last bastion of the national sugar industry was defeated by the lack of fuel.

The Melanio Hernández sugar mill, as the Tuinucú mill is officially known, was much more than a sugar factory. Its generators produced electricity that supplied the town and contributed to the national grid, an advantage that for years made this village an exception within the province of Sancti Spíritus, even though some facilities had deteriorated over time due to a lack of state investment and the children had been transferred to another school. While in other municipalities the population suffered frequent power outages, in this town the residents became accustomed to a relatively stable supply, sustained by the energy that came from the very heart of the industrial center.

“The family whose sugar mill was taken away were the ones who sent the money to restore the Catholic church, which was in very poor condition.”

That tranquility vanished when the machinery stopped. Since then, residents have had to adapt to blackouts that exceed 12 hours a day, a situation they barely experienced before the closure of the colossus. On nights without electricity, the village is plunged into a darkness reminiscent of the worst moments of the Special Period in the 1990s.

“What little we had left they’ve taken from us too, because this town is so neglected,” says Eliécer, 79, who was born in the batey. The old man surveys the sugar mill facilities with a mixture of nostalgia and concern. For decades he worked in activities related to the harvest and saw how the sugar industry sustained the economic and social life of the community.

Eliécer recalls that the residents of Tuinucú have always been proud of their history. Even though many have emigrated to other provinces or abroad, they maintain ties with the town and contribute to preserving its traditions. “The family whose sugar mill was taken away sent the money to restore the Catholic church, which was in very poor condition,” he explains. With a firm voice, he adds that “the first shortwave radio transmission test in Cuba was conducted from this very spot, in 1912.”

The restored church still stands as a symbol of that past. Just a few meters away, however, the contrast is stark. The old school in the batey (sugar workers’ village), which for years educated several generations of children, has become an abandoned structure, with peeling walls continue reading

and partially collapsed roofs. Vegetation is reclaiming the surrounding area, and the building seems to be hanging on by sheer inertia.

The school in Tuinucú “was seized, taken from its owners, and years later it was left in ruins.” / 14ymedio/Courtesy

For Nieves, an elderly woman also born in Tuinucú, this decline sums up the town’s fate. She sadly recalls the years when the school was full of students and the batey buzzed with activity at the sugar mill. “It was seized, taken from its owners, and years later it was left in ruins,” she says. Her voice breaks as she describes the loss of so many “beautiful things” that were part of community life. “The recreation center for the Tuinucú workers is also destroyed.”

The shutdown of the sugar mill comes at a critical time for the Cuban sugar industry. This year, there will be little doubt that the harvest has once again been the worst in history, a title the sector has held since 2021. The Melanio Hernández mill was the only one operating on the island, and even so, it has had to cease operations due to the energy crisis.

Last year, the mill met its production plan , reaching approximately 21,000 tons of sugar, even exceeding the forecast by 1,800 tons. This figure made it a source of pride for the authorities and an example of resilience within a declining sector. For the current harvest, the goal was more modest: around 14,000 tons. Milling began a month late but progressed at an acceptable pace until a fuel shortage forced the machinery to shut down.

According to sugar company executives, the mill had produced approximately 40% of its planned sugar output—around 5,600 tons—when the decision was made to close the tipper truck’s opening . The measure was presented as temporary, but uncertainty surrounding fuel supplies and the future of the industry raises concerns that the shutdown could last longer than anticipated.

“We felt privileged because here we defended ourselves with the power the mill gave us.”

Meanwhile, workers in the sector have had to find alternative ways to stay employed. In other provinces, sugar companies have redirected their efforts toward charcoal production and agricultural work, amidst the collapse of the harvest. In Tuinucú, however, these initiatives have not yet managed to compensate for the economic loss caused by the shutdown of the sugar mill.

“We felt privileged because while in other parts of Sancti Spíritus people only have makeshift electricity , here we managed with the power from the sugar mill,” Nieves explains. She acknowledges that the change has been abrupt and that the residents weren’t prepared to deal with prolonged blackouts. “We weren’t even ready for everything that came after; people have had to rush out and buy batteries, generators, and electric lamps.”

In the streets of the batey, uncertainty mingles with resignation. The houses remain silent during the hottest hours, and small businesses adjust their schedules to take advantage of the moments when the electricity returns. Daily life now revolves around waiting, as if each neighbor awaits the signal that the chimneys will once again begin to smoke.

But that signal hasn’t arrived. In Tuinucú, the shutdown of the sugar mill has not only turned off the lights in the workers’ village, but has also ignited concerns that this is the prelude to a permanent closure.

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The Cuban Regime Returns to 23rd and 12th With Fewer People and the Same Speeches

Without Raúl Castro or Ramiro Valdés, the event was held amid an electricity deficit of 1,872 MW

Each act of reaffirmation seems less like a show of support and more like a display of wear and tear. / 14ymedio

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, April 16, 2026 — The Cuban regime, aware of its dwindling domestic support, seems determined to expend every last drop of fuel on acts of reaffirmation and propaganda. This Thursday, it did so again at the historic corner of 23rd and 12th streets in Havana’s Vedado district, where Miguel Díaz-Canel led the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the proclamation of the socialist character of the Revolution.

The official figure was over 50,000 attendees, a number the propaganda machine tried to present as a show of strength. But even accepting that figure, the image was rather lackluster. Iti s barely a quarter of the more than 200,000 people that, according to official figures at the time, the Castro regime managed to mobilize at that same site in 2002.

The comparison doesn’t favor the government. In a country exhausted by blackouts, inflation, and emigration, the capacity for mobilization no longer impresses as it once did. This time, moreover, the contrast was even more striking due to the absences. On the platform, the only historical figure alongside President Díaz-Canel was José Ramón Machado Ventura. Neither Raúl Castro nor Ramiro Valdés were present, two names that for decades served as emblems of continuity and control. The image left by the December 23rd rally was that of a ritual increasingly outdated, more bureaucratic, and less epic.

The only historical figure present alongside Díaz-Canel was José Ramón Machado Ventura. Neither Raúl Castro nor Ramiro Valdés were in attendance. / Screenshot/Presidency of Cuba.

The most stark reality of the day, however, wasn’t in the stands but in the electricity report. While the official apparatus orchestrated another dawn of slogans, the National Electric Union predicted a deficit of 1,872 MW during peak hours on April 16th. The state mobilized dozens of buses, trucks, police, and loudspeakers to celebrate socialist resistance while millions of Cubans prepared for another night in darkness.

Díaz-Canel spoke for twenty minutes, dressed in olive green and holding a small flag in his left hand, which he waved almost mechanically during each pause, waiting for applause. He reiterated continue reading

that “the main cause of our problems is the genocidal blockade imposed by the United States government,” a formula that, in official discourse, aims to shut down any serious examination of the inefficiency, improvisation, and failure of the model. The phrase rings increasingly hollow on an island where the government has monopolized all the levers of the economy for more than six decades and where the crisis can no longer be explained solely by Washington.

He also appealed to a list of achievements that today seems remote, almost ghostly, to a large part of the Cuban population. He spoke of literacy campaigns, the social advancement of the children of workers and peasants, shoeshine boys sent into space, social justice, and a society where “man is brother and not wolf to man.” All of this was presented as irrefutable proof of socialism, but heard in the Cuba of 2026—with hospitals lacking supplies, neglected schools, and professionals fleeing en masse—the argument sounds more like a rhetorical relic than a description of the present.

The state mobilizes dozens of buses and trucks to celebrate socialist resistance while millions of Cubans prepare for another night in darkness. / 14ymedio

Perhaps the most contradictory passage was his attempt to vindicate socialism by citing the cases of China and Vietnam, presented as examples of dazzling development. The mention has something of an unintentional confession about it. Because if those countries exhibit growth, openness, and dynamism, they have done so precisely after embracing extensive market mechanisms, attracting foreign investment, and relaxing economic dogmas that in Cuba continue to be treated almost as articles of faith. Invoking them as showcases of socialism without acknowledging this shift is yet another way of manipulating history.

Not missing, also, was the tone of a besieged city. Díaz-Canel asserted that Cuba must be ready to face “serious threats, including military aggression,” and concluded with one of the most bellicose phrases of the day: “Here, as the song says, we are going to give fire.” The slogan may elicit applause from the disciplined masses, but it speaks volumes about a regime that, even amidst material collapse, continues to rely on an increasingly unbelievable martial theatricality.

The event at 23rd and 12th was, in the end, a show of force in a weakened country and an appeal to nostalgia in a society rapidly losing faith. Castroism still manages to mobilize its supporters, but each act of reaffirmation resembles less a demonstration of support and more a display of attrition. And the numbers, this time too, are against them.

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“A US Military Victory in Cuba Would Be Very Easy, but a Political Victory Much More Difficult.”

  • This is the response to speculation of someone familiar with the island’s military about alleged Pentagon plans.
  • Russia and China reiterate their support for Havana, but Moscow merely states that it “would not want any country to invade Cuba”
Flags of the United States and Cuba in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana. / EFE/Ernesto Mastrascusa

14ymedio bigger14ymedio Madrid, 16 April 2026 — The Pentagon has slightly cooled the speculation that arose from the USA Today report that the agency “is quietly intensifying its military plans for a possible operation in Cuba in case President Donald Trump gives the order to intervene.”

“We will not speculate on hypothetical scenarios. The Department plans for various contingency scenarios and remains prepared to execute the President’s orders as directed,” was the response to questions from the Russian news agency Ria Novosti. This statement is more cautious than the one offered by USA Today when it sought clarification on the alleged plan revealed by two sources to the publication, although there was an addition.

The Pentagon added that a chain of command keeps it “isolated” from the president, a statement interpreted as a call to separate political pronouncements from technical and operational decisions. While the final decision rests with President Donald Trump, the department ultimately confirms that all options are on the table.

“At this moment, it is more about a communication strategy.”

The idea is basically the same as that put forward in the USA Today article by Brian Fonseca, director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University, who was interviewed for the occasion as an expert on the Cuban military. When asked by the publication, Fonseca opined that talk of preparing military plans could simply be a threat: “At this moment, it’s more of a communications strategy.”

The specialist emphasized something already known: that the Cuban Army’s material resources are very limited and its personnel are not highly motivated. However, he believes the consequences of the intervention would not be very favorable. “This would be a very easy military victory, but a much more difficult political one,” he opined. In his view, “restoring the rule of law and supporting the opposition leaders would be a much more complex task.”

The USA Today article reveals nothing new. Since the US intervention in Venezuela on January 3, 2016, to capture Nicolás Maduro, it has been expected to repeat the same tactic in Cuba, based on Trump’s own continue reading

repeated statements. However, the diplomatic route remains on the table, and the talks between the State Department and Raúl Castro’s grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as ” El Cangrejo” (The Crab ), revealed by the US press, are considered a certainty.

What remains unknown is whether these talks will succeed, since in recent weeks Miguel Díaz-Canel himself, who in mid-March confirmed discussions with the US government, has fueled militaristic rhetoric. In two interviews with US media outlets, the Cuban president has insisted that he will not resign—one of the most widely discussed options, to make way for a successor more to Washington’s liking, such as Óscar Pérez-Oliva, the current deputy prime minister and a member of the Castro family—and that the regime will resist until death, if necessary.

This Wednesday, Beijing and Moscow again offered their verbal support to Havana, although materially it is unthinkable that the material support will go from solar panels and oil to military aid.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference that Beijing “firmly opposes” Washington’s coercive practices and reiterated that China “will firmly support Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and opposing foreign interference,” a message that is repeated almost identically on a daily basis.

This Wednesday, Beijing and Moscow again offered their verbal support to Havana, although materially it is unthinkable that the material support will go from solar panels and oil to military aid.

Regarding Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with India Today that Russia “would not want any country to invade Cuba.” “Cuba is an exceptional partner of Russia, our good friend. And we would not like to see any country invading Cuba, or pressuring Cuba, or isolating it from the outside, preventing medicine from reaching Cuban children,” he said.

“Children in hospitals are dying without electricity or medicine. This is not right,” he insisted. The spokesman, however, downplayed Trump’s statements about Cuba, saying that the president “is extremely open with the press and very detailed in his explanations.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov echoed this sentiment when asked about the same situation. “I don’t intend to play the fortune teller because we’ve often heard statements from Washington, and many of these never materialized into practical actions,” he noted.

The Foreign Minister noted that Russia has repeatedly reaffirmed its “firm support for the sovereignty and independence of our Cuban friends, who are prepared to defend their freedom to the end, with all the resources at their disposal.”

“Russia and China provide Cuba with political, economic, and humanitarian support in the United Nations and other forums, and I have no doubt that we will continue to provide that support,” he added, without mentioning at any point the possibility that the aid could go further, a possibility ruled out after the zero military cooperation with Venezuela and Iran.

Lavrov also said he remained hopeful that “the United States will not return to the times of direct colonial wars or the subjugation of free peoples.”

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Tens of Thousands of Cubans Will Be Able To Regularize Their Status in Spain Starting This Thursday

If the country of origin takes more than a month to provide the applicant’s criminal record, one of the concerns of citizens from the Island, the Spanish authorities will obtain it through diplomatic channels

The procedure can be requested starting April 16 electronically or at offices designated by the Royal Decree. / EFE

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Madrid, April 15, 2026 / Tens of thousands of Cubans may benefit from the extraordinary regularization of immigrants who were living in Spain at the beginning of this year, a figure that is around 840,000. The measure, approved this Tuesday by the Government and entering into force on Thursday, April 16, will allow nearly half a million people to obtain the rights and obligations associated with temporary residence, including working, contributing to social security, and paying taxes.

It is estimated that the number of Cubans in an irregular situation in Spain is about 16,000, while 72,270 have legal or “quasi-legal” residence, which includes a large number of asylum seekers. There are currently between 45,000 and 55,000 asylum applications from Cuban citizens in process or accumulated without resolution, a wide range calculated from those already registered as such (and who have a red card) and those who only have a prior appointment. This is one of the reasons cited by Pedro Sánchez’s Government to support the reform: to provide a solution for hundreds of thousands of people who have been living in the country for months and years without rights and obligations due to administrative reasons and bureaucratic delays.

There are two new pathways for regularization: one for asylum seekers who applied for international protection before January 1, 2026 and have not yet received a response; and another for those who were residing in the country without any type of permit as of that date.

There are currently between 45,000 and 55,000 asylum applications from Cuban citizens in process or accumulated without resolution, a wide range calculated from those already registered as such (and who have a red card) and those who only have a prior appointment

In the case of the first group, the main requirement is to be of legal age and to have been in Spain continuously for at least five months prior to the application, which can be proven by any document containing the applicant’s personal data. To apply, they must provide their passport, pay the corresponding fee (38.28 euros), and have no criminal record. This is one of the points that most concerned Cubans — and other foreigners — for various reasons, including the traditional delays of the Cuban Government in continue reading

providing documentation, whether due to organizational and logistical problems or intentionally, in order to hinder procedures.

During the processing of the regulation, it was speculated that a sworn statement would replace the need to provide such records, but an opinion from the Council of State advised against it, so the situation has been resolved in an intermediate way. The applicant must request the certificate from the country of origin and be able to prove that they have done so, but if they do not receive it within a month, there is an alternative. They can submit proof of the request and a sworn statement, as well as authorize Spain to carry out the process through diplomatic channels.

If a person chooses this pathway, which is contained in Additional Provision 20, settlement for asylum seekers, it is mandatory to formally withdraw the asylum application. In return, immediate work authorization is granted, unlike the previous procedure, which required waiting six months without a response (a deadline almost always reached due to the volume of cases) to obtain permission for self-employment or employment by others. This authorization lasts one year, after which the applicant can apply for ordinary residence.

The other pathway — Additional Provision 21, extraordinary settlement — is very similar, although it is more universal in nature and is intended for those who arrived in Spain irregularly without having requested international protection. The measure also applies to those who were in the country before January 1, 2026, have been there for five months at the time of application, have no criminal record with the same rules applying if the country of origin does not provide it within a month, and are of legal age. In addition, they must demonstrate one of the three situations specified by law.

The other pathway, Additional Provision 21, extraordinary settlement, is very similar, although it is more universal in nature and is intended for those who arrived in Spain irregularly without having requested international protection

One is having worked in Spain, having a job offer or a self-employment project, which must be declared in a specific document. Another is having minor children, adult children with disabilities, or dependent parents. The last is proof of vulnerability through a report from social services or authorized private organizations of the same type.

In this case, immediate authorization to work is also granted from the start of the process for a period of one year, after which it must be converted into ordinary residence. If no response is received within three months, the application is considered denied.

A point of common interest for both pathways is that applications can be submitted simultaneously, so that in a family, all members — spouse, partner, and cohabiting children of an applicant — can submit their applications at the same time and must receive a response simultaneously.

The regulation also specifies what can be done if ordinary residence is not obtained within a year, for example in the absence of a work contract. Affected individuals may request a one-year extension if they can prove they are actively seeking employment through registration with the state public employment service, or submit a report demonstrating integration efforts, a document prepared by authorized regional bodies in which knowledge of official languages will be taken into account. For more serious cases, such as if the applicant becomes seriously ill, acquires a disability, or reaches retirement age, there will be extraordinary extensions of four years.

The Royal Decree was published this Wednesday in the Official State Gazette, which means it comes into force this Thursday. From that day, applicants can request an appointment online to begin the process, the most recommended option, although it can also be done at post offices, Social Security offices, and immigration offices to be designated.

The deadline ends on June 30, and some organizations have expressed concern to the press about the fact that the documents are not yet available on the website. “We spend the whole day checking the ministry’s website to see if the forms we will have to fill out are being published,” Mónica López, general director of the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR), told El País.

The measure has sparked broad debate in Spain, as it is opposed by the main opposition parties (PP, Vox, and the Catalan nationalist party Junts), which asked for it to be halted in Congress. The rest of the parties support the measure, including the Basque regionalist right, which, although it has described it as “opportunistic,” believes it will facilitate the labor integration of hundreds of thousands of workers who are currently in the informal economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

The Havana Refinery Is Not Operating and All Russian Oil Was Taken to Cienfuegos

It is suspected that the Ñico López has suffered damage caused by a fire in February

The Cuban tanker Pastorita, in front of the Ñico López refinery in Havana. / 14ymedio

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana/Madrid, April 14, 2026 – Almost two weeks have passed since the Anatoly Kolodkin docked in Matanzas with 750,000 barrels of Russian crude, and the Ñico López refinery in Havana, which is supposed to convert the oil into even more valuable products such as gasoline and diesel, is still not operating. This is revealed by its inactive chimney, visible across the bay from any high point in the city, and about a dozen tanker trucks parked nearby.

When asked about it, Cuban specialist from the University of Texas Jorge Piñón suspects that the plant, located in the municipality of Regla, “is inoperable as a result of a technical problem or lacks reliable and uninterrupted electrical power to operate.” Refineries, he continues, “burn oil for high-temperature heating and steam; however, they depend on electricity to power essential equipment such as pumps, compressors, fans, and automation systems.” Electricity, moreover, “also powers critical safety systems, sensors, and pumps that transport fluids during the refining process.”

This is revealed by the inactive chimney, visible across the bay from any high point in the city. / 14ymedio

He adds that this inability may be due to the fire at the facilities last February 13, whose “damage to logistics,” he says, “has not been repaired.” The large column of black smoke produced at the time, visible from numerous points in Havana, caused alarm among the population, but authorities quickly downplayed the incident, explaining that it occurred in a warehouse containing “an unused additive product” and that it did not spread to other areas, so the flames did not reach the fuel storage tanks.

What is certain is that ship geolocation services have not detected any movement from the port of Matanzas to Havana, which is “only 52 nautical miles away” (just over 96 kilometers), Piñón emphasizes. Also, in Havana’s bay, in front of the refinery, there were only two liquefied gas vessels, the Pastorita and the Emilia. The latter departed on March 12 for Cienfuegos, where it will likely load LPG produced from Russian oil. continue reading

Also heading to Cienfuegos since the Anatoly Kolodkin set sail, after unloading the crude it carried on April 4, are two tankers from Matanzas, even though it is much farther away, at 125 nautical miles (more than 230 kilometers). One is the Vilma, under Cuban flag, which, according to Piñón’s data based on its draft, received from the Russian vessel “a ship-to-ship transfer” of 414,000 barrels and arrived at the Cienfuegos refinery on April 8.

This is revealed by the inactive chimney, visible across the bay from any high point in the city. / 14ymedio

The other is the Nicos I.V. – under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines- which, the University of Texas expert estimates, carries 227,000 barrels of Urals crude and is currently located off Cape San Antonio, in Pinar del Río. The remaining 109,000 barrels needed to complete the 750,000 brought by the Anatoly Kolodkin may be aboard some of the other Cuban tankers moored in Matanzas: the María Cristina, the Lourdes, and the Alicia.

The problem with the Cienfuegos refinery, Piñón points out, is that it “does not have a vacuum tower or a catalytic cracking unit like the Havana refinery” and, therefore, is more likely to produce lower-quality fuel oil used for distributed generation engines and less of “high-value products such as gasoline and diesel.” The expert notes that the coastal vessel Prímula has been docked in Cienfuegos for two days, right after the Vilma departed, and speculates that it is “ready to transport refined products as soon as possible from the Cienfuegos refinery to a Cuban oil port yet to be determined.”

Meanwhile, maritime tracking agencies show the Russian tanker Universal, which is sanctioned by the United States and the European Union, like the Anatoly Kolodkin, loaded with 320,000 barrels of fuel and coming from the Baltic port of Vysotsk in the North Atlantic, is bound for Cuba. Its expected arrival date is April 23.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Where Gasoline is Scarce, Charcoal Arrives

At the service station on Boyeros and Santa Catalina, the business is no longer filling tanks but supplying cooking stoves

The site designed to fuel engines has become a supplier of embers. / 14ymedio

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, April 14, 2026 / At the intersection of Rancho Boyeros and Santa Catalina Avenues in Havana, where for decades the smell of gasoline dictated the rhythm of city traffic, now another aroma dominates, more rustic and persistent: that of charcoal. This Tuesday, the service station was deserted, with no cars in line and no attendants pumping fuel. The pumps remained motionless, like museum pieces, while on one side of the building, the one facing Rancho Boyeros Avenue, the real business of the day was taking place: the sale of sacks of charcoal at 1,700 pesos each.

The scene is a true portrait of the crisis. The site, designed to fuel engines, has become a supplier of charcoal. Where once the metallic click of hoses being inserted into tanks was heard, now the rough scraping of sacks as they are dragged along the ground echoes. A man carries one over his shoulder with the ease of someone transporting an essential item. It’s easy to understand: in a city where blackouts last for hours, charcoal has gone from being an emergency resource to an everyday commodity.

Charcoal for sale in Havana at 2,500 pesos per sack. / 14ymedio

The gas station, empty of both fuel and customers, seems to have adapted to the new times with pragmatism. The supply of gasoline and diesel is sporadic, subject to uncertain logistics that force drivers to join long virtual queues and pay in foreign currency for each liter. Many no longer even try to get fuel; they’ve left their cars parked indefinitely or use them only on exceptional occasions. Meanwhile, the need to cook cannot wait, and the electric stove becomes a useless ornament when the power goes out. That’s where charcoal comes in, transformed into a domestic lifeline.

From the sidewalk, the transformation of the gas station seems almost symbolic. The structure remains intact: high ceilings, aligned pumps, and the yellow and red paint on the walls, visible from afar. But the star product no longer flows through pipes; instead, it’s sold in black sacks stacked against a wall. Less fossil fuel to power vehicles and more solid fuels to sustain daily life.

A woman approaches, asks the price, and after a quick mental calculation, pays the 1,700 pesos without haggling. In other parts of Havana, it already costs 2,500. “This will last me for several days,” she remarks, before placing the sack on an electric tricycle. Her gesture reveals the resignation with which many Havana residents have incorporated charcoal into their daily routine. Because cooking with firewood, a practice that seemed relegated to rural areas or bygone eras, has once again taken root on balconies and rooftops throughout the city.

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Anna Bensi After the Dismissal of Her Case: “If They Think They Can Silence Me, They Are Very Wrong”

State Security suggests she cooperate with counterintelligence or go live with her sister in the US

Screenshot from the video of young Anna Sofía Benítez’s complaint after her conversation with counterintelligence. / Facebook

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Madrid, April 14, 2026 / The Havana Provincial Prosecutor’s Office has definitively dismissed the case against Cuban YouTuber and activist Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente and her mother, Caridad Silvente, who were being investigated for crimes of “acts against personal and family privacy, image and voice, identity of another person and their data.” The decision means the lifting of the precautionary measures imposed on both women, such as the travel ban between provinces and abroad.

While the measure is good news, it has a downside, as it represents an “exit” from the harassment the young woman has been subjected to by State Security in recent weeks. “They really gave me three options,” said Anna Bensi—as she is known on social media. “Shut up, reunite with my sister (and my mother), or regret spending my youth locked up in a prison,” she explained in a Facebook Live video.

The 21-year-old activist was summoned to the Alamar police station on Monday, where she was informed that the case against her had been dismissed. However, this was only the beginning of a long conversation that outraged the young woman. After signing the documents, she was asked to stay for a moment to chat, and then “three counterintelligence agents entered who never identified themselves” and sat down, surrounding her, one on each side and one facing her.

“Three counterintelligence agents entered who never identified themselves” and sat down surrounding her, on both sides and facing her.

The agents tried to convince her they could help her in the music industry. “’Sofia, that dream is in your hands. It only depends on you, we can help you,’ they said, and with that they were trying to recruit me into silence,” she asserts. Anna Bensi argues that these offers will not lead her to abandon her ideals and contribute to “maintaining their circus while a people is dying of hunger.”

“There they were, playing with my psychology. Making me believe continue reading

they were friendly and they wanted to help me, because that’s how they work. Asking me how I felt about the whole situation, how I felt about what I was going through, what I wanted, how I saw myself in the future…,” she continues.

The agents told her, she maintains, that no one else had the power to help her in any way like they could, and they gave her the names of activists and journalists in the US and Spain—including José Daniel Ferrer, Amelia Calzadilla, and Mario J. Pentón—as examples of those who couldn’t get her a visa. Furthermore, they insisted that she shouldn’t let herself be manipulated and subtly threatened her, saying that something could happen to her if she continued to lead a cause against the regime.

“They said it was in our best interest to keep quiet, that any little thing could happen to us, that I was very skinny and very young to be a leader. I don’t want to be a leader of anything, I simply share my opinion on social media,” she emphasized at several points in the nearly 22-minute video.

These last three weeks have not been easy, the young woman says, stating that the authorities have targeted everyone around her, not just her.

In early March, Caridad Silvente, Anna Bensi’s mother, recorded and shared images of the agent who came to her house to deliver a summons for her daughter, whom they wanted to interrogate for disseminating messages denouncing the situation in Cuba and attributing the hardships of the population primarily to the regime. These types of activities, which amount to little more than criticism of the government, are considered “propaganda against the constitutional order” under the Cuban Penal Code and are punishable by long prison sentences, with online dissemination being an aggravating factor .

The YouTuber went to testify weeks later regarding the accusation against her mother, but ended up being charged with the same crime. In early April, the US chargé d’affaires in Cuba, Mike Hammer, visited their home in Havana in a show of support. The pressure on her family intensified just hours after the meeting, and her sister, Elmis Rivero Silvente, was summoned to the Immigration Unit in the Playa municipality under the pretext of an “interview for immigration control of her stay.” Rivero is a US citizen and was spending a few days with the family on a trip she used to bring medicine for her mother, but she became caught up in the persecution against her family.

Despite the ordeal of the last few days, the activist is clearer than ever: “All these injustices only demonstrate what they so vehemently deny being: a dictatorship. If they think they can silence me, they are very wrong, unless they imprison me.”

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They Are Asking the Authorities To Pick Up the Deportees, Including Cubans, Who Are Wandering Around Tapachula, Mexico

A lawyer tells ’14ymedio’ that migrants are afraid of being deported and are hiding.

A group of migrants in Miguel Hidalgo Square, in Tapachula. / Facebook/VENUS Online

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Mexico City, April 14, 2026 / Merchants in Tapachula, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, are up in arms against a group of migrants deported from the United States, including Cubans, who, in a legal limbo and without access to job opportunities, are surviving as best they can in the vicinity of Miguel Hidalgo Plaza. Specifically, they propose housing them in the tents located at the Olympic Stadium, which are part of the “Mexico Embraces You” program, originally created last year for Mexicans expelled from the United States by the Donald Trump administration.

The deportees, lamented José Elmer Aquiahualt Herrera, president of the Association of Established Merchants and Property Owners of Tapachula (Acepitap), in statements to the Diario del Sur, wander about and relieve themselves everywhere.

In addition, he claims they generate conflicts. According to the shopkeeper, the tents at the Olympic Stadium are the ideal place for deportees. “The place is set up for that purpose, and this way we avoid having migrants relieving themselves in parks,” he insisted.

In early April, the Tapachula city council filed a complaint against Cuban national Eduardo Tosco for allegedly assaulting employee Teresa Estrada. However, the man remains at the plaza. “The authorities searched for him for a few days. They probably realized upon seeing him that they wouldn’t get anywhere by arresting him,” lawyer Roger Ernesto Goitia told 14ymedio .

The lawyer believes that for the transfer to the stadium to take place, “the migrants must first be convinced that they will not be detained and deported.” Goitia states that these people communicate via WhatsApp messages, and “when they see immigration workers or vans, they continue reading

disperse.”

The lawyer explains that the federal program is for Mexican nationals and is designed to provide minimal support.

The lawyer also clarified that the federal program is for Mexican nationals and is designed to “provide minimal support from Tapachula for the return of Mexicans to their places of origin.” Unfortunately, he acknowledged, there is no data on the program’s results in Tapachula. Furthermore, the facility offers assistance three times a week and is “a transit point.”

The most recent precedent is the assistance offered to 121 Mexican nationals—91 men, 17 women, and 13 minors—who were returned to the southern border last January. According to official data, 11,089 Mexicans were received in Tapachula between January 2025 and 2026. The National Migration Institute confirmed to this newspaper that 142,706 people have benefited from the Dignified Repatriation program, which is activated upon arrival in the country through the “Mexico Embraces You” initiative.

Last March, Boston District Judge William Young denounced an “unwritten” agreement with Mexico through which the US has deported 6,000 Cubans. According to Luis Rey García Villagrán, director of the Center for Human Dignity, at least 500 people from the island were expelled in March and abandoned “without papers or money” in the border state with Guatemala.

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Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Iglesias and the Convoy: Propaganda During the Cuban Crisis

Silvio Rodríguez,  the convoy, and Pablo Iglesias: propaganda during the Cuban crisis

Cubanet Noticias de CubaCubanet, “Journalist in Cuba”, Havana, 24 March 2026 — The Nuestra América Convoy* arrived without incident on the announced date. Its crew members would have preferred greater media coverage, more noise and visibility, but they had to settle for the reach of Cuban state media and a few headlines on social networks that sparked more mockery and criticism than support. Cuba is not Gaza, as was pointed out long before the convoy members boarded their flight in first-class seats, and this has been confirmed following the end of the deplorable spectacle put on by spokespeople of a socialism perverted to the core, in the capital of a country dying of that same appropriated and lucrative socialism, all of which is no secret. Perhaps this is why the episode is all the more repugnant to us.

After meeting up they proceeded to the Convention Palace for a gathering presided over by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, whose mere presence underscores the importance of this caravan and its participants, and the real impact that this little adventure could have in the current context of the “talks.” There they boasted of the rampant misery (branded as “creative resistance”) in the Antilles, traded slogans, used up energy till they brought down the National Electrical System (SEN), then retired to their five-star hotel accommodations, ready to receive that committed Left that always puts its shoulder to the wheel for the people. From his luxurious room, Pablo Iglesias, one of the most despicable and terrifying politicians Spain has ever produced, celebrated himself and conveyed the message that while the crisis is tremendous, the island isn’t doing as badly as portrayed.

The former leader of Podemos had his selfies, his live broadcast, his five minutes of fame, and his tropical getaway, all paid for by the Socialist International. The rest of the truckers called for a sincere dialogue between Cuba and the United States, conveniently ignoring the fact that the convoy’s organizational advisor is the aunt of the lead negotiator for the Cuban side, who until a week ago claimed he wasn’t negotiating with the United States. Honesty above all else is what one can expect from the Havana regime. That’s why we learned on January 4th** that there were Cuban military personnel guarding Nicolás Maduro, a reality denied for years by the island’s diplomats.

Cuba isn’t in such dire straits, nor is it unreasonable, that transparency cannot be demanded from the dictatorship as it dialogues with the Trump administration while the Cuban people are deliberately ignored. It never occurred to any of the comrades, amidst all the sloganeering and continue reading

proletarian embraces, to suggest that the government communicate with its citizens. Such are the friends of Cuba, those who get excited when Díaz-Canel claims that the people are prepared to die standing up to the United States. Fidel Castro assured Nikita Khrushchev of something similar during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Even today, many Cubans are unaware of how coldly the idolized leader sentenced an entire nation to death, speaking for those who then inhabited the island.

Currently, the more the Trump administration denies that a military operation in Cuba will take place, the more Havana escalates its confrontational rhetoric. While there is no one left in the White House who hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a military intervention, here come the fleet drivers, ready to soak in the rhetoric of resistance to the last drop of foreign blood, while Silvio Rodríguez shows up requesting an AKM “in case they come at us…” And who would “they” be? So far, only Cubans themselves have attacked—those who suffer blackouts, political repression, hunger, and shortages of all kinds; those who have no right to demand that the dialogue be with them; those who have repeatedly asked that the problem be resolved collectively by all Cubans, without reservations.

Silvio Rodríguez continues to widen the gap between the people and his miserable existence as a militant singer-songwriter. It won’t be long before his work can no longer save him from the disgust and disappointment his pronouncements provoke. It won’t be long before we see if he’ll actually be capable of responding with his AKM to the call to arms that Díaz-Canel (or anyone else up there) might be willing to issue as soon as circumstances demand it.

The troubadour, once again, turns his back on his people and closes ranks with the dictatorship he has loyally served as symbolic capital. He aligns himself with a nefarious Pablo Iglesias in this final charade, blaming the “blockade” *** and minimizing the regime’s blunders. Iglesias seeks to salvage his lamentable political image, and Silvio doesn’t miss the opportunity to demonstrate that he is willing to die as he lived: being a fool.

The founder of Nueva Trova will never confront Castroism, no matter how unjust its designs or how ruthless its aggressions towards the people. Rodríguez demonstrated as much during the protests of July 2021. Any statement he makes against the regime would come thirty years too late, overshadowed by the coherence by which another, truly great, Pablo chose to live out the remainder of his life.
Silvio’s train left without him, he lost his unicorn, his ventricles shrank. All he has left is his AKM. We’ll see if he’s capable of pointing it at us, although he’ll probably end up using it to defend himself against the ill will his words have stirred in the hearts of thousands of Cubans.

Translated By: Alicia Barraqué Ellison.

Translator’s Notes:

* The convoy was named after an essay by José Martí. Martí has always, throughout Cuba’s history, been referred to as the “Apostle of Cuban Independence.”

** U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife on January 3.

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

Díaz-Canel Calls Democracy, a Free Press, and Human Rights ‘Paraphernalia’

More details emerge from the NBC interview: the Cuban leader avoided any self-criticism, denied the existence of political prisoners, and blamed the crisis on the United States

Díaz-Canel during the interview broadcast by NBC this Sunday. / EFE/Screenshot

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Yunior García, Madrid, April 13, 2026 – The U.S. network NBC published this Sunday the full interview with Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, conducted by journalist Kristen Welker on the program Meet the Press.

Not accustomed to facing the foreign press—until now he has moved almost exclusively among official media or international interlocutors aligned with the regime—Díaz-Canel responded harshly and took refuge in the most worn-out repertoire of Cuban power.

Over more than 50 minutes, he did not assume a single political responsibility for the country’s deterioration. On the contrary, he defended the continuity of the system, rejected any conditions from Washington, and presented himself as part of a “collective leadership” willing even to “give their lives for the Revolution.”

In the face of threats from Donald Trump, Díaz-Canel also suggests that aggressive language toward Cuba has not come solely from the U.S. president but also from other members of his administration, in a barely veiled reference to Marco Rubio, whom he avoids mentioning by name in that part of the interview.

Instead of using the space to ease tensions or outline a political solution, the president once again situates himself on the terrain of resistance, the ‘besieged plaza’, and a nation permanently on guard. A serious leader would have spoken of de-escalation, international legality, and the protection of civilians. Díaz-Canel, however, preferred the liturgy of martyrdom and the use of the population as a rear guard for the doctrine of “war of the whole people.”

In the face of threats from Donald Trump, Díaz-Canel also suggests that aggressive language toward Cuba has not come solely from the U.S. president

The Cuban leader avoids drawing parallels between Cuba and other countries and takes refuge in the Island’s historical singularity, but that caution does not erase a recent uncomfortable fact. The doctrine of “civic-military unity,” which Chavismo copied from Castroism, has already shown its most resounding failure in Caracas. continue reading

In the section devoted to fuel, Díaz-Canel admits, perhaps more clearly than at any other moment in the interview, the magnitude of Cuba’s energy precariousness. He acknowledges that the recently arrived Russian tanker “will only cover one-third of Cuba’s monthly oil needs,” that this crude still has to be refined and distributed, and that much of it will be used to recover 1,200 megawatts that have been out of service for four months.

From there he tries to wrap the Island’s dependence on Russia in the language of resistance and sovereignty, but what remains is the admission of a country that cannot sustain its economy or its electrical system without immediate external assistance.

When the journalist asks whether he assumes any responsibility for “the suffering Cubans are experiencing,” Díaz-Canel does not offer a single concrete admission of mismanagement, economic design errors, state inefficiency, or internal obstacles. He simply turns the question back: “What is the main cause of that suffering?” His answer is evasive: “It is not the Cuban government’s fault.” With that statement, he abruptly shuts down any serious examination of the State’s role in the electrical collapse, food shortages, lack of medicines, or mass emigration.

His evasiveness becomes even more evident when visible poverty in Havana, 20-hour blackouts, and the departure of hundreds of thousands of Cubans are addressed. He acknowledges that “our people are living very harsh conditions daily,” but avoids linking that suffering to a centralized, unproductive, and politically closed model.

He prefers to describe the population as resilient. “The Cuban people feel frustrated,” yes, but “the majority of the Cuban people do not blame the Cuban government.” The claim contradicts what can be observed on social media and even in the streets, where more and more citizens openly reject not only his management but also the power structure that sustains it.

When NBC lists some of the demands Washington typically puts on the table—release of political prisoners, multiparty elections, independent unions, and a free press—Díaz-Canel responds with a mix of denial and disdain. He first claims that “no one” has raised those demands with him. Then he makes it clear that, in any case, the Cuban political system and “constitutional order” are not subject to negotiation.

The most revealing moment comes when he reduces democracy, human rights, freedom of the press, and union autonomy to mere “paraphernalia” of manipulated concepts loaded with “prejudices.” That is, he does not refute the accusations, offer evidence, or address the substance of the issue. He simply discredits in advance the language used to question him. His closing escape—“we don’t have time now,” “it would take a long time to discuss it”—completes the picture of the maneuver.

NBC presses on, mentions Maykel “Osorbo,”* and places the number of those imprisoned for political reasons at more than 1,200. “It is a big lie,” the president responds.

NBC presses on, mentions Maykel “Osorbo,”* and places the number of those imprisoned for political reasons at more than 1,200. “It is a big lie,” the president responds. According to his version, in Cuba protest is not punished, but rather vandalism and subversion encouraged from abroad. But reviewing case by case the files, charges, and sentences imposed on protesters, artists, opponents, and activists shows that it is Díaz-Canel himself who distorts reality.

In the diplomatic arena, the leader presents himself as open to negotiating with the United States but under an absolute condition: that “our political system” and “our constitutional order” not be touched. He asserts that dialogue and agreements “are possible but difficult,” and lists areas of cooperation such as migration, drug trafficking, terrorism, and investments.

One of the most revealing moments comes at the end. When asked whether he would be willing to resign to “save Cuba,” Díaz-Canel responds irritably with a phrase that sums up the essence of the entire interview: “The concept of revolutionaries abandoning and resigning is not part of our vocabulary.”

*Maykel Castillo Pérez is the real name of Maykel Obsorbo, an independent musician. He co-founded the San Isidro movement in protest of Decree Law 349, which required artists to get State permission for exhibitions and performances.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Political Prisoner Alexander Díaz Rodríguez Is Released With Severe Malnutrition

The 11J protester, suffering from cancer, denounces lack of medical care and mistreatment in prison

The activist Alexander Díaz Rodríguez, before and after his release. / Prisoners Defenders

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, April 13, 2026 – Cuban opposition figure Alexander Díaz Rodríguez was released on April 4 in Artemisa after fully serving a four-year prison sentence for peacefully protesting on July 11, 2021. The state of physical deterioration and malnutrition he was in upon release highlights the levels of abuse to which prisoners of conscience are subjected in Cuba.

“When I saw the condition he was in, I noticed what I have seen on other occasions in prisoners leaving Cuba: they look like they’ve been rescued from a concentration camp,” Javier Larrondo, president of Prisoners Defenders, told 14ymedio, after Díaz Rodríguez contacted him via video call immediately upon leaving prison.

The photographs of the activist taken after his release, which Larrondo urges to be shared despite their harshness, speak for themselves. “I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to congratulate him, but I was speaking to a human being reduced to skin and bones, completely destroyed,” Larrondo notes.

During his imprisonment, in 2022, Díaz Rodríguez was diagnosed with advanced-stage thyroid cancer, but at no point did he receive adequate treatment. This was compounded by later suffering from hepatitis B, anemia, inflammation in his limbs, and a progressive state of malnutrition.

“We knew he was in terrible condition and we have fought for years for his life. He has requested parole on medical grounds, we have taken his case to the United Nations, but the Cuban regime continue reading

made him serve the entire sentence, in full,” adds the Prisoners Defenders president about his case.

There were numerous complaints about his deteriorating health and the irregularities surrounding the entire judicial process against him

Indeed, during the sentence of the now former prisoner, aged 45, there were numerous complaints about his deteriorating health and the irregularities surrounding the entire judicial process against him. According to relatives and independent organizations such as Justicia 11J, Prisoners Defenders, and Cubalex, the political prisoner was deprived of medication and specialized care. On several occasions he had to be urgently transferred to Abel Santamaría Hospital in critical condition, even vomiting blood, but was always returned to prison without guarantees of treatment.

Despite his condition, he was subjected to forced labor. The former political prisoner stated that he was forced to work to access a less severe prison regime, despite his physical state, and that by refusing to collaborate with State Security he lost prison benefits, including sentence reduction.

The complaints also include physical assaults: in 2024 and 2025, his mother reported that he was beaten by prison officials. Additionally, he was subjected to threats so that his family would stop denouncing the situation on social media. He also endured constant interrogations and arbitrary restrictions, such as the removal of his prison job after refusing to cooperate with State Security.

Despite his critical condition, the authorities refused to grant him medical parole. The refusal was based on his status as a “counterrevolutionary”

Despite his critical condition, authorities repeatedly refused to grant him medical parole. According to his family, the refusal was based on his status as a “counterrevolutionary,” despite meeting the medical requirements to access this benefit.

Díaz Rodríguez was detained during the 11 July 2021 protests in Artemisa and remained in pretrial detention until his trial. On December 27, 2021, the Municipal People’s Court of Artemisa sentenced him to four years in prison for contempt and public disorder.

Prisoners Defenders presented the case before the UN Human Rights Council as part of the collective complaint “1,000 Cuban Families vs. Cuban Government.”

This document claims that Díaz Rodríguez’s process was plagued with legal irregularities. Among them, the imposition of pretrial detention without judicial intervention and the lack of access to independent defense, as he was represented by lawyers from the National Organization of Collective Law Firms, subordinate to the State.

The document also points to the absence of judicial impartiality and the use of questionable evidence and testimony, mostly from State officials, as well as the complete dismissal of defense witnesses.

Cuba has consolidated itself as the country with the most convictions for arbitrary detention in the world according to the UN Working Group

The court used subjective assessments such as “poor social conduct” or “destabilizing actions” to justify the severity of the sentence, which reached the maximum limit provided. According to the complaint by Prisoners Defenders, these expressions, included in the ruling, demonstrate political bias and a lack of neutrality incompatible with international standards.

The images, circulated among activists and opposition figures, were also shared by the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, José Daniel Ferrer, who publicly denounced the situation through a video on social media and recalled the situation of other prisoners of conscience who also suffer mistreatment, such as Roilán Álvarez, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, and Félix Navarro, among the 1,213 political prisoners that Prisoners Defenders reports to date.

Meanwhile, Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel, in his recent interview with NBC, has once again denied the existence of political prisoners on the Island: “That image that in Cuba, anyone who speaks against the revolution is imprisoned is a lie.”

The UN has shown that the detentions are political in nature and violate fundamental rights of expression and assembly

Prisoners Defenders reports that Cuba has consolidated itself as the country with the most convictions for arbitrary detention in the world according to the UN Working Group. The UN has shown that the detentions are political in nature and violate fundamental rights of expression and assembly.

Javier Larrondo also recalls that according to the latest report from the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances, Cuba is the fourth country in the world in urgent actions for this crime, behind only Mexico, Iraq, and Colombia. Unlike these countries, he notes, in Cuba enforced disappearances are directly attributed to the State.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuba’s Only Labor Union (CTC) Calls To Celebrate May 1st ‘While Rationally Assuming the Imposed Restrictions’

With grandiloquent language and references to ‘Che’ Guevara, the CTC calls to “defend the country from the furrow, the factories, the classrooms, from every trench of combat”

In recent years, the May 1 parade has had low turnout, despite pressure. / 14ymedio

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Madrid, April 13, 2026 – The Island’s single union, the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), will once again adapt to circumstances and on May 1 will again celebrate its act of revolutionary reaffirmation, this time “with parades and events in every workplace collective, towns, municipalities, and provinces, rationally assuming the imposed restrictions.”

The call has gone through years of ups and downs in which the pandemic, lack of fuel, and low turnout capacity have made the traditional parades to the Plaza de la Revolución disappear. What remains unchanged is the distance from international labor movements, which dedicate the day to making demands on governments and not to applauding their own, with the exception of China, North Korea, or Vietnam.

The statement was released at the end of the most recent “voluntary workday,” held this Sunday with a focus on food production. Union leaders present at the event highlighted that these activities, called by the CTC on weekends this year, “have become a demonstration of unity alongside other organizations, reviving the creative idea championed by Che Guevara in the 1960s as a powerful tool to produce and sustain the vitality the country needs to grow and move forward in the face of the genocidal blockade.”

Union leaders present at the event highlighted that these activities, called by the CTC on weekends this year, “have become a demonstration of unity alongside other organizations, reviving the creative idea championed by Che Guevara in the 1960s

Last week, in fact, Miguel Díaz-Canel participated in one of these events in Artemisa. The president was photographed turning the soil in a furrow with a hoe, alongside about 50 people, including 18 young people to whom he handed membership cards of the Union of Young Communists. The CTC has asked that these voluntary work efforts focus, in addition to “food sovereignty,” on the installation of solar panels and the sugar harvest, although milling is halted in all sugar mills in the country due to lack of fuel.

Liván Izquierdo Alonso, first secretary of the Communist Party in Havana, and Yanet Hernández Pérez, governor of the province, accompanied by other members of the UJC and the PCC, stood alongside Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez, president of the organizing committee of the 22nd Congress of the CTC, who outlined the purpose of the May 1, 2026 event. Under the slogan “the Homeland is defended,” the objective will not differ from continue reading

traditional ones, although with the yearly varnish, which this time is the energy blockade.

The statement emphasizes the importance of “working together and growing as a country (…) in the face of increasing threats from the U.S. Government, reinforced by the executive order of January 29, which added an energy siege to the already intensified economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed on us for more than 65 years simply for wanting to build a dignified, sovereign, and independent nation.”

Nor does the call differ, as is traditional, in the use of the so-called founding fathers of the nation. “Celebrating May Day (…) is to once again ‘break the corojo’* as Maceo did in Baraguá when he did not accept a peace without independence; it is to evoke the ideas of José Martí in his speech Los Pinos Nuevos, a transcendental declaration of unity of several generations of Cubans around the independence project; it is to defend, in the year of the centennial of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, his concept expressed on May 1, 2000.”

The organization calls on workers to “defend the country from the furrow, the factories, the classrooms, scientific centers, thermoelectric plants, hospitals, culture, sports; from every trench of combat,” and invites “friends of Cuba around the world” to accompany the celebration. Last year, according to the organizers, nearly 1,000 activists from 260 organizations aligned with the regime in 39 countries traveled to the Island, including 211 Americans, the largest national delegation. Now, with a large number of international flights suspended, it remains to be seen what will happen with these foreign delegations, which normally attend the Havana event and usually take part in a tour of activities.

Now, with a large number of international flights suspended, it remains to be seen what will happen with these foreign delegations, which normally attend the Havana event and usually take part in a tour of activities

In any case, the CTC thanks in its statement the solidarity of those who wish to support them “in the midst of a real military threat” and repeats the idea that Díaz-Canel brought up last week during his interview on the U.S. channel NBC: “To die for the homeland is to live.”

The document continues by urging workers to comply with “the priorities defined by the Party,” whether it be the energy matrix shift, food, education, or health, “not out of dogma or fanaticism, but out of conviction, ideas, and action.”

Last year, the regime claimed to have gathered one million people at the May 1 parade, which was again held in the Plaza de la Revolución. Enthusiasm, however, was once again notably absent, as in the past decade. According to official data, in 2018 there were 800,000 attendees, but a year later, during the so-called energy “conjuncture,” the empty spaces were clear evidence of the lack of motivation, despite pressure. After the suspension of celebrations due to the pandemic and the last-minute cancellation in 2023, the situation was such that in 2024 the march was held at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune, with 13,000 square meters and the attendance of supposedly around 200,000 people.

*Translator’s note: The phrase “el 23 se rompe el Corojo” was used as a coded message of defiance by supporters of Maceo, setting a date (March 23) to “break the corojo,” meaning to break the agreement and resume hostilities. (AI)

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

China Replaces Canada’s Sherritt As the Main Operator in Nickel Exploitation in Cuba

The multinational has suspended its activities in Moa due to the lack of fuel, while Beijing, the leading buyer of the mineral, invests in modernizing the industry

The deterioration of Sherritt in Cuba is due both to the collapse of the international price of nickel and to the growing financial burden of its operations on the Island. / Radio Angulo

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, April 12, 2026 – The Cuban energy crisis has opened a gap in one of the country’s most sensitive industries, and China is moving to fill it. While the Canadian company Sherritt has suspended operations in Moa due to fuel shortages, the Cuban government is showcasing the arrival of Chinese technology at the Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara plant as a sign of continuity in a sector that has been operating at the limit for years. What is at stake is not just a specific investment, but a rebalancing of external influence in the exploitation and commercialization of Cuban nickel.

The official press reported this week on the installation of a Chinese-made sedimentation tank in the leaching and washing area of the Moa plant, in Holguín, framing it within a technological modernization program. It did not report how much the equipment cost, who manufactured it, under what conditions it was acquired, or how much it will increase process efficiency. In Cuba, strategic industrial investments are often announced as political gestures rather than as projects subject to public scrutiny.

The new development stands out because it comes at the most delicate moment for Sherritt in years. In February 2026, the Canadian company reported that it had reduced or halted activities in Moa due to fuel restrictions and warned that a prolonged shutdown makes any restart more expensive and complicated. Sherritt maintains its stake in the joint venture Moa Nickel S.A., but the operational crisis has reduced its visible presence on the ground and exposed the fragility of a model overly dependent on imports, subsidized energy, and logistical stability.

In 2024, China was the main destination for Cuban exports of “nickel mattes” and other intermediate nickel products, with 53.1 million dollars

In that context, China appears less and less like a distant partner and increasingly like the practical support Havana needs to sustain the industry. This is not, at least for now, a formal corporate replacement of Sherritt. It is something more gradual and perhaps more important. Beijing gains influence where the Canadian company loses room to maneuver, especially as a buyer of the mineral, supplier of equipment, and actor willing to sustain a strategic relationship with an industry that Cuba cannot allow to collapse.

China has long occupied a central place in this framework. In 2018, Cuba aimed to produce more than 50,000 tons annually of continue reading

combined nickel and cobalt. Production from the Ernesto Che Guevara plant was exported mainly to China, while that of Pedro Soto Alba, operated in association with the Canadian company Sherritt, was sent to Canada. China was, at least for a significant portion of Cuban nickel, the main destination market.

The most recent trade data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity reinforce this trend. In 2024, China was the main destination for Cuban exports of “nickel mattes” [intermediate sulfide products] and other intermediate nickel products, with 53.1 million dollars, ahead of the Netherlands, with 35.4 million. The figure confirms that the link with Beijing can no longer be described as complementary. In a key part of the business, China is now the most important buyer.

The relationship between the two countries in this sector, however, did not begin now. The most ambitious precedent dates back to 2004, when Cuba and China signed 16 cooperation agreements that included a promise of investment exceeding 500 million dollars to complete a ferronickel plant abandoned in the eastern part of the country. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), that package also included the supply of 4,000 tons of nickel annually to China between 2005 and 2009, and the creation of a joint venture to explore and develop mineral deposits. As has happened so many times in the Cuban economy, the gap between announcement and outcome was considerable. It was later acknowledged that the Camarioca project ended up leaving the orbit of China Minmetals.

Sherritt has not disappeared from the map, but the combination of energy crisis, production paralysis, and external dependence has weakened its immediate prominence

In statements to 14ymedio, businessman William Pitt has linked the deterioration of Sherritt in Cuba both to the collapse of the international price of nickel and to the growing financial burden of its operations on the Island. In April 2024, he warned that a metric ton of nickel was trading at 17,439 dollars, well below the 23,894 dollars of a year earlier, and argued that this drop was forcing mining companies to cut investments in Cuba. A year later, commenting on the company’s annual report, he noted that although in 2024 Sherritt extracted 30,331 tons of nickel and 2,206 of cobalt, its revenues fell to 109.9 million dollars, 29% less than in 2023.

In May 2025, moreover, the company recorded a loss of 40.6 million dollars in the first quarter, while its nickel production fell from 3,597 to 2,947 tons, its nickel sales declined from 87.8 to 75.7 million dollars, and the Cuban State kept frozen the payment of some 107 million dollars it owed the Canadian company. For Pitt, behind those losses there is not only a bad price cycle, but a combination of blackouts, fuel shortages, falling global demand, lack of personnel, and the general deterioration of the Cuban state partner.

Sherritt has not disappeared from the map, but the combination of energy crisis, production paralysis, and external dependence has weakened its immediate prominence. China, on the other hand, is strengthening its position through a less visible and more effective route. It buys, supplies equipment, sustains cooperation, and places itself at the center of an industry that the Cuban government needs to preserve in order to obtain foreign currency. According to the USGS, mineral products accounted for nearly a third of Cuban exports in 2023, a proportion too high to allow nickel to collapse without external support.

The installation of the sedimentation tank does not by itself rescue the industry nor does it amount to a major wave of investment. But it does function as a symptom. At the moment when the Canadian company slows down and the Cuban State cannot sustain the comprehensive modernization of the sector with its own resources, China occupies the available space.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue

Madruga, a Cuban Town Stalled at the Bus Stop

The lack of transportation turns every trip into an odyssey of hours and money in the Mayabeque municipality

Madruga, a Cuban Town Stalled at the Bus Stop

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Madruga (Mayabeque), April 12, 2026 – The traffic sign next to the bus stop has blank boxes. There could be no better symbol to define the lack of public transportation, the void that stretches along the central highway for those who have to travel. In Madruga, Mayabeque, the stop has become a place of waiting without promises, a point where time stretches and patience is tested under the clear sky and the dust kicked up by the few vehicles that manage to pass.

“The route that used to go to San José de las Lajas twice a day no longer exists. Now you have to go segment by segment, getting on whatever stops,” explains Ignacio, a self-employed worker who comes to the town frequently. The man, with a backpack slung over his shoulders and rubber boots still stained with dirt, watches the road as if salvation might appear at any moment in the form of a truck, scooter, or improvised pickup.

According to Ignacio, speaking to 14ymedio, he managed to get on an electric tricycle that charged him 500 pesos to Catalina de Güines, from where he managed to climb onto a cargo truck for another 600 pesos. “To get here I was lucky, but the return is very complicated. I’ve been here at the stop for four hours and not even flies are passing. My only hope is that by holding out a 1,000-peso bill, some driver will want to take me,” he laments, pacing restlessly back and forth along the sidewalk.

Only a woman with a small child shelters under the yellow roof of the terminal, trying to protect themselves from the heat and exhaustion. / 14ymedio

Next to the stop, the taxi stand from which private taxis used to depart is also deserted, leaving no way to travel to Ceiba Mocha or Matanzas. The metal bench, once contested by passengers, remains empty for long stretches of time. Only a woman with a small child shelters under the yellow roof of the terminal, trying to protect themselves from the heat and the fatigue accumulated after hours of waiting.

“It’s already past 2:00 in the afternoon and not a single car has come through today. Now things are really bad, because even with money in your pocket you can’t get out of here,” says a young man, for whom the municipality of Unión de Reyes feels farther away than ever. The man checks his phone frequently, although he knows the battery will run out continue reading

before a vehicle willing to pick up passengers appears. “The few that are circulating are from the same town. No private driver will go to Matanzas for less than 40,000 pesos. Honestly, it’s an abuse,” he complains.

Worried that night will fall without being able to leave, the man from Matanzas has gone several times with his four-year-old son to a nearby cafeteria, where tractor-trailers stop to eat. The child, sitting on the edge of a bench, plays with an empty cup while curiously watching the road. “Only two or three big trucks have passed. All the drivers tell me they’re loaded, that they can’t take me. My child keeps asking when we’re leaving. He asks for water, food, and we’re stuck in the middle of the road. We left San Nicolás de Bari before dawn and we’re still wandering around. Hopefully we won’t have to sleep on a bench,” says the young father, visibly exhausted.

“No official is concerned about the hardships the people go through, because they all have ways to get around.” / 14ymedio

You could cross the road without looking both ways, if not for the occasional electric scooter breaking the silence of the roadway. The sounds of combustion engines have practically disappeared from the central highway. There is little movement in the surroundings: a street vendor pushes a cart with agricultural products, a cyclist passes slowly, and occasionally a truck raises a cloud of dust that forces those present to cover their faces.

“I need to take medication to my mother who lives in Aguacate, just a few kilometers from here. A trip that can be done in minutes takes a whole day because there are no intermunicipal buses running,” says a woman, sitting in the same spot since mid-morning, without even leaving to get a coffee for fear of missing a vehicle that might stop. She grips her bag tightly and anxiously watches every point that appears on the horizon.

“The traffic sign is there for nothing. I got tired of raising in accountability meetings that this stop needs an inspector, but no official cares about the hardships people go through, because they all have ways to get around,” the woman argues, unable to hide her frustration.

As the afternoon goes on, the sun beats down on the sidewalk and the shadow of the yellow roof becomes the only refuge for travelers trapped in the wait. Time seems to stand still in Madruga. Only the young man with his son and four other people persist in trying to embark on a journey whose wait becomes unbearable due to the heat and uncertainty.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.