Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Italy’s Neos Launches Rome-Holguín Route to Cuba as the Dominican Republic Attracts Tourism Lost by Cuba

The 2026 Global Passport Index ranks Cuba 143rd in the world, the lowest in Latin America.

Opening ceremony for Neos’ inaugural Rome-Holguín flight. / Minrex

14ymedio, Madrid, July 3, 2026 – Italian airline Neos inaugurated a new direct route between Rome and Holguín, Cuba, on Thursday, one of the few positive developments for Cuba’s tourism sector at a time when the island continues to lose international air connections and faces the consequences of the energy crisis.

The inaugural flight departed from Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino, Rome, and landed at Frank País Airport in Holguín with 238 passengers on board. The airline will operate the route once a week, directly linking Italy with one of eastern Cuba’s main tourist destinations.

The departure was marked by an official ceremony at the Rome airport, attended by Cuba’s ambassador to Italy, Jorge Luis Cepero, along with Neos executives and representatives of Aeroporti di Roma. The Cuban diplomat said the new connection “represents a significant step toward strengthening connectivity between Italy and Cuba” and will make it easier for European travelers to reach Holguín, a destination the Cuban Government promotes for its beaches, natural landscapes, and cultural heritage.

The inauguration also included a photography exhibition featuring the official Cuba Única campaign, through which the regime is trying to attract foreign visitors despite the difficulties facing the tourism sector.

“We needed this air connection; the trip was perfect, although it’s a 14-hour flight, and now I still have to continue on to Santiago de Cuba”

The new route also provides an alternative for Cubans living in Italy who travel to eastern Cuba to visit relatives, sparing them the long overland journey from Havana to provinces such as Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Las Tunas, and Guantánamo. However, reaching the easternmost provinces will still not be easy because of the Island’s transportation shortages. “We needed this air connection; the trip was perfect, although it’s a 14-hour flight, and now I still have to continue on to Santiago de Cuba,” one passenger told the official press.

Neos had already warned about operational difficulties resulting from Cuba’s aviation fuel shortage. In a statement released in February, the airline said continue reading

that its flights to the Island could experience schedule changes and might even be forced to make technical stops in nearby countries to refuel before continuing the journey.

Neos’ commitment is one of the few positive developments in Cuba’s aviation market. Since the beginning of the year, numerous airlines have reduced frequencies or withdrawn from the Island because of weak demand, operational problems, and fuel shortages at Cuban airports.

In recent weeks, Iberia temporarily suspended its Madrid-Havana route at least until November; Delta Air Lines canceled its Atlanta-Havana service because of declining passenger numbers; Air Transat indefinitely ended its flights to Cuba; and earlier, Air Canada, WestJet, and Air France had already reduced part of their operations due to difficulties refueling.

The Dominican Republic’s Tourism Minister, David Collado, acknowledged that several airlines have redirected routes to his country because of the situation facing Cuba

The situation has also affected Air Europa, which last month announced a fourth weekly flight between Madrid and Havana, making it the only Spanish airline maintaining regular operations to Cuba after the withdrawal of Iberia, World2Fly, and Plus Ultra. However, its Boeing 787 aircraft must stop in Punta Cana to refuel before returning to Spain, a direct consequence of the jet fuel shortage affecting all of Cuba’s international airports since February.

The decline in flights has been accompanied by a reduction in international tour operator activity and the withdrawal of most foreign hotel chains associated with Gaesa, which have been threatened by U.S. sanctions.

Other Caribbean destinations acknowledge that they are absorbing part of the market lost by Cuba. On Thursday, Dominican Republic Tourism Minister David Collado admitted that several airlines have redirected routes to his country because of the situation affecting the Island.

“Cuba is going through a very difficult political and tourism situation, where hotels have closed,” he said while presenting the Dominican Republic’s tourism sector results. Although he insisted that the Dominican Republic “does not take advantage of the situation in specific countries,” he acknowledged that airlines, including some that previously operated from Canada, have shifted flights to the Dominican Republic. He also noted that Condor has added three new routes from Germany and that the country has recorded a 10% increase in flights this year, along with approximately 300,000 additional airline seats.

The 2026 Global Passport Index, compiled by Global Citizen Solutions, ranked the Cuban passport 143rd in the world, the lowest in Latin America

The loss of international air connections adds to the difficulties Cuban citizens face when traveling abroad. The 2026 Global Passport Index, compiled by Global Citizen Solutions, ranked the Cuban passport 143rd in the world, the lowest in Latin America. The Cuban passport allows visa-free entry to only 26 countries and requires visas for approximately 100 destinations, a limitation that affects not only tourism but also the educational, employment, and emigration opportunities of millions of Cubans.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘And When Did It Come Online?’ Cubans Mock Yet Another Guiteras Power Plant Shutdown

The country’s main thermoelectric plant has suffered at least 17 shutdowns in 2026, while its workers struggle to keep an exhausted facility running.

“Please, don’t turn it on anymore—build a new one,” one commenter pleaded on Facebook. / Facebook / Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Plant

14ymedio, Havana, July 3, 2026 – No Cuban is surprised anymore to learn that the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant has gone offline from the National Electric System (SEN). “And when did it come online? I didn’t even notice,” one Cuban asked this Friday after hearing about the latest breakdown. The Matanzas unit disconnected at 6:58 a.m., just four days after being synchronized with the grid and while generating about 180 megawatts.

As of the time this article was written, authorities had not explained the cause of the new breakdown or provided a timetable for returning the plant to service. With this latest incident, the Guiteras has suffered at least 17 outages so far this year. The previous one, announced on June 24, was caused by a water leak in the aging boiler.

The brief statement posted on the plant’s Facebook page was met with a mix of fatigue, outrage, and sarcasm. “The truth is, it never really came online. Let’s be honest,” wrote user Frank Manolo Gallardo. “The never-ending story,” added Yeudis Fernández. For Luansy Lima, the explanation was simpler: “Of course, it takes weekends off.”

“Let me guess… another boiler leak. The Guiteras is like a sieve,” joked Marta Beatriz Parra. “You can’t even tell anymore whether it’s coming online or going offline,” added Soyuz Maray Gómez. Others summed up the uselessness of the official reports for those still enduring endless blackouts: “Either way, we don’t notice whether it comes online or goes offline because there’s never any electricity.” continue reading

The plant has not undergone a major overhaul since 2010 and has been in operation for more than 38 years

The mockery, however, is not directed at the plant’s workers, who are repeatedly forced back into the depths of a deteriorating facility. In May, more than 300 people worked shifts of up to 14 hours during a 90-hour repair operation. Welders had to work inside the boiler in temperatures reaching 60 degrees Celsius (140°F) and at heights of around 150 meters (492 feet).

“Inside the boiler, the heat is hellish,” admitted Norberto Padrón Ramos, a supervisor and welder with 38 years of experience. He also warned about the gases, the exhaustion, and the cumulative toll of such work: “It’s a job that eventually takes its toll on you.”

The State press itself described the technicians welding “at full speed, racing against the clock,” eating and drinking coffee beside the boiler so they would not interrupt the work. But behind that image of labor heroism lies enormous pressure. Every Guiteras breakdown worsens the blackouts, the pot-banging protests, and the demonstrations. The regime knows this, which is why it mobilizes ministers and Communist Party officials and makes the workers directly responsible for bringing back online within days a machine that actually requires months of work.

For decades, the Cuban state postponed major overhauls, allowed its thermoelectric plants to age, and replaced systematic investment with emergency patchwork repairs

The plant has not undergone a major overhaul since 2010 and has been operating for more than 38 years. Between January and May alone, it spent 293 hours out of service due to defects in the economizer, one of the boiler components that has suffered the most frequent failures.

Guiteras shutdowns also pose a risk to the stability of the entire electrical grid. This does not mean that every breakdown will necessarily trigger a nationwide blackout, but the sudden loss of one of the country’s largest generating units can cause a frequency drop that Cuba’s weakened electrical system does not always have sufficient reserves to offset. On September 10, 2025, an unexpected shutdown at the plant caused the complete collapse of the National Electric System. In March of this year, another disconnection left two-thirds of the country without electricity.

For decades, the Cuban state postponed major overhauls, allowed its thermoelectric plants to deteriorate, and replaced long-term investment with emergency fixes. Beyond the regime’s perennial excuse of the embargo and sanctions, the problem was never a lack of resources but rather a political decision about where to spend them.

“Please, don’t turn it on anymore—build a new one,” one commenter pleaded. The remark, written out of frustration, sums up both a technical and political conclusion: the Guiteras does not need another miracle from its workers, but a comprehensive overhaul and the kind of investment that the Government chose for years to devote instead to hotels that now stand empty.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Alleged State Department Cable Leaked Outlining U.S. Position Ahead of U.N. Debate on Cuba

The State Department asks its ambassadors, in a document published by The Nation, to promote opposition to the session and to criticize Havana if it takes place.
Díaz-Canel responds to Trump: “We are not afraid of war.”

The debate precedes the annual October vote against the embargo. / X

14ymedio, Madrid, July 3, 2026 – The United States has a clear position regarding the debate promoted by Cuba for this Tuesday at the United Nations against the “blockade” and is trying to rally both allied and less closely aligned countries behind it. This is nothing unusual, although Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez has spent the week denouncing Washington for doing exactly what Havana itself has also been doing: seeking support for its international policy.

“The State Department apparatus is trying to prevent the General Assembly from examining a matter of urgent global concern by using pressure, lies, and threats directed at member states,” Rodríguez said Tuesday in Havana.

Now, the U.S. publication The Nation has released what it says is a State Department cable revealing the position of the agency headed by Marco Rubio. The document is titled Engaging UN Member States on the July 7 General Assembly Open Debate on Cuba and makes clear that Washington would prefer the session not to take place. The main argument it presents to other countries is that the Cuban regime already uses the annual vote on a resolution against the embargo as a political lifeline.

The main argument presented to other countries is that the regime already uses the annual vote on a resolution against the embargo as a political lifeline

The three-page cable, marked SBU (Sensitive But Unclassified), instructs U.S. embassies to encourage the countries where they are stationed to “reaffirm” their objections and oppose the debate. If the session does take place, the guidance varies depending on the country’s level of alignment with Washington.

“The United States encourages the most closely aligned member states to make statements criticizing Cuba for its adherence to a thoroughly discredited economic theory, its gross incompetence, and its widespread corruption.” For countries with weaker ties to Washington, the guidance is to “refrain from making comments.” Finally, for governments that typically support Havana, the cable includes a warning: “The United States will pay close attention to their interventions during continue reading

the debate and advises against raising points that could create tensions in our bilateral relationship.”

The document argues that Cuba “does not have a real economy,” states that “the United States is deeply concerned about the Cuban people” and has therefore “offered $100 million in humanitarian assistance,” while accusing the regime of delaying its delivery. Last week, Miguel Díaz-Canel said in an interview that between $2.6 million and $2.8 million of the first aid package offered by Rubio after Hurricane Melissa had already been distributed, while the subsequent $6 million package was now beginning to arrive. As for the $100 million package, he said it has not yet been finalized.

The Cuban president spoke again on Thursday, this time with the British television network Sky News, where he said Cuba “is not afraid” of a war with the United States and denounced Washington’s threatening rhetoric. Hours before the interview aired, Donald Trump had struck a more conciliatory, though very brief, tone, saying that for the first time in many years the island “is getting closer” to the United States, in contrast to the Cuban regime’s recent statements describing relations as hostile.

“We do not want a war, but we are not afraid of one either. We are preparing ourselves so that we are not caught by surprise or defeated,” Díaz-Canel said, repeating the same message several times. “We are a country of peace. We are not a threat to anyone; on the contrary, we offer solidarity to the world. Therefore, Cuba is not a nation in conflict, we are not a colony, and we will not renounce our sovereignty or our independence,” he added.

The president referred to the White House’s threatening rhetoric and said it is part of “a strategy of media intoxication and psychological warfare”

The president referred to the White House’s threatening rhetoric and said it is part of “a strategy of media intoxication and psychological warfare” intended to intimidate the country and that it constitutes “an outrage and an affront” to the dignity of the Cuban people.

Díaz-Canel accused Washington of telling “many lies” and “manipulating” public opinion, while subjecting the Cuban population to “maximum pressure” that affects everyday life. Asked by Sky News whether, after recent U.S. interventions in Venezuela and Iran, he takes Trump’s threats seriously, Díaz-Canel repeated that he is prepared to fight “to the last drop of blood” to defend Cuba’s rights, independence, and sovereignty.

Barring any surprises, the first battle will take place on Tuesday during the United Nations debate. And both sides have already made their positions very clear.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The US State Department Rebuts Cuban President Díaz-Canel’s Claims About $100 Million in Humanitarian Aid

According to sources cited by Café Fuerte, shipments will begin in July and include food and medicine.

The arrival of assistance from the United States has generated reactions and controversy. / Caritas Cuba

14ymedio, Madrid, July 3, 2026 – The United States has responded to criticism from Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who said in an interview with Dominican television last week that the $100 million in aid announced by Washington did not include food or medicine. In statements to the independent media Café Fuerte, the State Department categorically rejected the claim and announced that shipments will begin this month.

“We can confirm that the aid is ready to be shipped and that Miguel Díaz-Canel’s illegitimate regime has been delaying the approvals,” a senior State Department official told the outlet on Thursday. “We expect major shipments in July, if the regime allows it.”

Asked about the contents of those shipments and Díaz-Canel’s claim, the official added: “That is totally and absolutely false. The shipments offered by the State Department include food, as was demonstrated during inspections conducted during the humanitarian relief phases following Hurricane Melissa, and this can be verified by the Catholic Church and other NGOs.”

“That is totally and absolutely false. The shipments offered by the State Department include food, as was demonstrated during the inspections conducted”

The same source also said that the United States has offered to bring medical care equipment to Cuba and that the regime has refused to accept it, without providing further details.

The U.S. Embassy in Cuba announced on June 17 that $60 million of the $100 million package will be managed by the Catholic Church, while the remaining $40 million will be administered by other NGOs. The agreement was finalized during a meeting between the head of the diplomatic mission, Mike Hammer; Sean Callahan, president of Catholic Relief Services; and Carmen María Nodal Martínez, director of Caritas Cuba. Also present was Dionisio García Ibáñez, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, known as continue reading

one of the Church’s most outspoken critics of the regime.

“During these meetings, coordination was discussed for distributing humanitarian aid to ordinary Cubans, with the goal of ensuring that assistance reaches those who need it most in an effective manner,” a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy said.

In October 2025, after Hurricane Melissa struck eastern Cuba, Marco Rubio offered the Cuban regime $3 million in aid. Following a back-and-forth between the two sides, mainly over how the distribution would be organized, shipments began arriving on January 14, and their distribution was handled by Catholic Relief Services and Caritas, which have remained responsible for all subsequent deliveries.

The organizations have encountered serious logistical problems due to the fuel shortage, to the point that Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski told The Washington Post that it was ultimately necessary to reach agreements with the Cuban regime to transport the aid by ship from Havana to Santiago. According to Café Fuerte, its source acknowledged that this issue had been discussed. “Of course, both humanitarian aid and oil and energy issues have been topics at the negotiating table,” the official said.

“Of course, both humanitarian aid and oil and energy issues have been topics at the negotiating table”

The first round of aid has been almost completely delivered, according to Miguel Díaz-Canel himself in the interview with Roberto Cavada. “Then they proposed another $6 million in aid, which is only now beginning to be implemented,” he added. He then claimed, however, that he knew little or nothing about the controversial $100 million package.

The president suggested that there was a political calculation behind beginning its delivery after September. “Why? We don’t know,” he said. He also claimed that the shipment did not include food or medicine. “So what is the aid for? We’ll have to see because they haven’t defined it, they haven’t clearly said what it is for,” he added. He also insisted that the cooperation is appreciated and accepted, but that it is “hypocritical.” “It means nothing compared with the damage the embargo has caused Cuba,” he argued.

According to Caritas, 82% of the donations have so far been delivered to the affected areas, reaching approximately 8,800 families in Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Las Tunas, Bayamo, and Guantánamo.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba: Voices Come to Light From Before the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue Shootdown

CNN obtained the audio recorded inside the only aircraft that managed to escape the attack in 1996.

“It gives you goosebumps to hear it,” Martín told CNN. / Screenshot / CNN

14ymedio, Havana, July 3, 2026 – Cubans had already heard the celebration of the military pilots who, on February 24, 1996, had just destroyed an unarmed civilian aircraft carrying defenseless people. “We blew their balls off!” one of them shouted after firing his missiles at a Brothers to the Rescue Cessna, as if he had shot down an enemy bomber and not a small aircraft over international waters.

Now, a recording released by CNN en Español allows the crime to be heard from the other side. Not from the cockpit of the MiG fighter jets, but from the aircraft flown by José Basulto, the only one of the three Brothers to the Rescue planes that managed to return to Florida. The tape, preserved for three decades in a collection of videos and cassettes belonging to former pilot Reinaldo Martín, recorded the communications and the fear inside the aircraft while the other two were being destroyed.

“This is gold,” Martín says as he shows CNN the cassette recorded aboard Basulto’s aircraft, whose call sign was Seagull 1. The recording also captures Carlos Costa, identified as Seagull Charlie, and Mario Manuel de la Peña, Seagull Mike. “It gives you goosebumps to hear it,” Martín admits while listening to one of the voices.

“They are going to shoot us down,” the pilot is heard warning. Then comes the silence

Communications between the MiG fighter jets and the Cuban command post were intercepted by U.S. intelligence services. Three days after the attack, on February 27, 1996, then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright made a transcript public and presented it as proof that the Cuban military knew they were attacking civilian aircraft and celebrated their destruction. “This isn’t guts, it’s cowardice,” Albright declared before the Security Council.

A decade later, Cuban journalist Wilfredo Cancio Isla revealed another decisive recording of the attack. Published in El Nuevo Herald in August 2006, the tape captured a meeting in which Raúl Castro acknowledged that he had authorized several generals to shoot down the aircraft without waiting for approval. “Shoot them down over the sea when they show up, and don’t ask,” he is heard saying. Cancio verified the authenticity of the voice with specialists continue reading

and with Alcibíades Hidalgo, Raúl Castro’s former personal secretary.

However, until now, the tape containing the audio recorded from the victims’ cockpit had never been released. Costa was piloting one of the Cessnas with Pablo Morales, while De la Peña flew the other with Armando Alejandre Jr. aboard. All four were killed when the Cuban fighter jets fired air-to-air missiles at the aircraft.

The microphone connected to Basulto’s headset captures the confusion and panic inside the cockpit. “They are going to shoot us down,” the pilot is heard warning. Then comes silence. “Charlie,” Basulto calls, trying to reach Costa’s aircraft. But there is no response. “Mike,” he insists. No one answers.

“This is the first time I have heard Basulto’s recording saying that we are next, that they are going to shoot at us”

“Both are down. They shot down both aircraft,” Martín explains during the report. By then, the Cessnas had been obliterated, and their wreckage had fallen into the Florida Straits.

An investigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization concluded that both aircraft were destroyed outside Cuban airspace. The first was about 18 miles from the coast and the second more than 30 miles away, while Cuba’s territorial limit was 12 miles. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also determined that the victims were given no warning that would have allowed them to land or leave the area.

The new recording also captures the reaction of Sylvia Iriondo, who was a passenger aboard Basulto’s aircraft and survived because the third plane managed to escape. “This is the first time I have heard Basulto’s recording saying that we are next, that they are going to shoot at us,” Iriondo tells CNN. For her, what happened leaves no room for nuance or euphemisms: “They fired on unarmed, defenseless civilian aircraft in international airspace.”

“We are next,” Basulto warns. “The other one destroyed. The other one destroyed,” is heard afterward

CNN recalls that the families had already heard other recordings of the attack, some provided by the FBI and others played during federal court proceedings. But the cassette found in Martín’s archive preserves something different: the crew’s final communications and the moment those aboard the third aircraft realized they could be the next victims.

“We are next,” Basulto warns. “The other one destroyed. The other one destroyed,” is heard afterward. The victims were Carlos Costa, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran; 24-year-old Mario Manuel de la Peña; Armando Alejandre Jr., born in New Jersey and a father; and Pablo Morales, a former Cuban rafter who had previously been rescued by Brothers to the Rescue. Three were U.S. citizens, and the fourth was a legal resident.

For Mirta Méndez, a relative of one of the victims, the indictment recently filed in the United States against Raúl Castro and several Cuban military officers cannot become just another symbolic gesture. “We cannot have an indictment that remains locked away in a drawer,” she says.

When CNN asks how she imagines Raúl Castro appearing before the courts at the age of 94, she replies: “It doesn’t matter. He is still active and giving orders. So if he can’t walk, then in a wheelchair; if he can’t sit, then on a stretcher.”

Translated by Regina Anavy
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America’s 250th Anniversary: Recovering the Soul of the Republic

The CubanAmerican Voice, Julio M. Shiling, July 2, 2026 / The celebration of America’s 250th anniversary is more than a commemoration of national independence. It is an invitation to reconsider the moral architecture upon which the American Republic was constructed. To ask whether the philosophical inheritance that sustained the nation for two and a half centuries remains sufficiently intact to preserve it for generations yet unborn. Every civilization ultimately lives not by economics or military power alone, but by the ideas it believes, the virtues it cultivates, and the transcendent truths it acknowledges.

The United States was unique among nations because it was founded upon propositions rather than ethnicity, dynasty, or conquest. The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that human rights do not originate in government but are endowed by the Creator. Government exists, the text argued, not to bestow liberty but to secure liberties that already belong to the human person by nature as an act of God. The Constitution translated those principles into institutions, creating a political order designed not merely to govern but to restrain government itself.

This remarkable achievement rested upon a synthesis of three intellectual traditions that together formed what has often been called the American creed. The first was biblical Christianity. The Founders differed in theology, yet they shared an intellectual world profoundly shaped by the Judeo-Christian understanding of the human person. The belief that man is created in the image of God endowed every individual with inherent dignity while simultaneously recognizing the reality of human fallenness. Liberty therefore required virtue; rights required responsibilities; freedom required moral restraint. As Alexis de Tocqueville famously observed, religion in America did not govern politically, but it governed the moral habits without which political liberty could not endure.

The second pillar was republicanism. Drawing upon the classical political philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, the mixed-government tradition continue reading

articulated by Polybius and Cicero, the English constitutional inheritance, and later thinkers such as Montesquieu, the Founders possessed no romantic illusions regarding human nature. They understood that political liberty required both moral virtue and institutional restraint, for unchecked power invariably corrupts and fallen human nature cannot safely be trusted with unlimited authority. They understood that concentrated power inevitably invites corruption because ambition is an enduring characteristic of mankind. The constitutional architecture of separated powers, federalism, checks and balances, judicial review, and representative government reflected what James Madison described as the necessity of enabling government to control the governed while obliging it to control itself. Constitutional government was therefore less an expression of optimism than of political realism rooted in Natural Law.

The third foundation was classical liberalism. Individual liberty, equality before the law, private property, free enterprise, religious liberty, and limited government established the sphere within which citizens could pursue human flourishing. Yet American liberalism differed significantly from its later European counterparts. It did not understand liberty as radical autonomy detached from moral obligation. Rather, freedom existed within an objective moral order inherited from both biblical revelation and natural law philosophy. In this respect, America’s liberalism remained tempered by Christianity and republican virtue.

These three traditions together produced what Russell Kirk described as the permanent things—a civilization sustained not merely by institutions but by enduring moral truths. The Founding, however, carried within it a profound contradiction. A republic dedicated to universal equality tolerated human slavery. America’s original sin was not simply political inconsistency but an applicable failure that resulted in a moral contradiction. The Civil War constituted the nation’s Second Founding. Under Abraham Lincoln, the Union’s victory preserved constitutional self- government while abolishing slavery and moving the Republic closer to fulfilling the Declaration’s universal promise. Lincoln understood that the Declaration supplied the nation’s moral compass while the Constitution supplied its institutional framework. The Reconstruction Amendments therefore represented not a rejection of the Founding but its fulfillment.

The remarkable endurance of this constitutional order cannot be explained solely by institutional design. As Tocqueville recognized nearly two centuries ago, America’s constitutional success depended upon a vibrant moral culture nourished by churches, families, local communities, and voluntary associations. In modern lexicon, this is referred to today as a civil society. Political liberty rested upon moral self-government. The Constitution worked because Americans largely governed themselves before the government governed them.

The history of socialism in America illustrates this point. Throughout the nineteenth century, utopian communities, labor radicals, anarchists, and European socialist immigrants attempted to transplant collectivist doctrines onto American soil. Although prominent intellectuals—including Edward Bellamy, Henry George, Jack London, Helen Keller, and King Camp Gillette—expressed sympathy for various socialist ideas, these movements remained politically marginal. The constitutional culture, religious vitality, entrepreneurial spirit, and civic habits of most Americans proved inhospitable to revolutionary ideologies. Why has the situation changed so slowly but so dramatically during the past century?

One explanation is that the moral ecology sustaining the Republic has steadily weakened. Liberalism, itself a child of the Enlightenment, contained within it an impulse toward secularization. Once detached from its Christian foundations, liberty increasingly came to be understood as expressive individualism rather than ordered freedom. Consumerism, material prosperity, and technological progress filled many practical needs while leaving unanswered the perennial human longing for transcendence.

At precisely this moment, intellectual movements derived from Marxism underwent a profound transformation. Following the failures of revolutionary socialism in the West, thinkers associated with Antonio Gramsci, the Frankfurt School, and later postmodern traditions shifted their attention from economics toward culture, education, language, law, and social institutions. What can adequately be diagnosed as cultural Marxism—a modern variation of Marxist ideology—weaponized these approaches and increasingly interpreted for society through the lens of relationships of power, domination, and identity rather than through the constitutional language of individual rights and equal citizenship.

Here Eric Voegelin offers a profound insight. Totalitarian ideologies, he argued, function as political religions. When transcendence is denied, human beings do not cease to seek ultimate meaning; rather, they relocate salvation into history itself. Politics becomes soteriology. The state, the revolution, the class struggle, racial justice, environmental redemption, or any number of secular causes may assume quasi-religious significance. The twentieth century tragically demonstrated the consequences of such ideological absolutism. Elements of today’s so-called “progressive” movement, including organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America, reflect aspects of this intellectual inheritance that is antithetical to the foundational base upon which the United States was built.

America’s semiquincentennial therefore presents an opportunity for more than patriotic celebration. It invites national renewal. Such renewal cannot be accomplished merely through legislation or electoral victories. As Edmund Burke reminded us, society is a partnership extending across generations, sustained by inherited wisdom as much as by political innovation. Institutions cannot preserve themselves if the civilization that created them forgets why they exist.

Recovering America’s first principles requires restoring the moral and civic culture upon which constitutional liberty ultimately depends. Such renewal begins with recovering confidence in the nation’s Judeo-Christian inheritance, whose moral teachings long provided the ethical foundation of ordered liberty. It also requires strengthening serious civic education rooted in constitutional history, Natural Law, and the intellectual traditions of Western civilization, thereby cultivating citizens who understand both the rights and responsibilities of self-government. Freedom of conscience and religious liberty must remain vigorously protected, while families, religious communities, and other mediating institutions should once again be recognized as indispensable schools of virtue and civic character. Finally, publicly funded institutions should foster genuine intellectual pluralism and the free exchange of ideas rather than ideological conformity or political orthodoxy.

The American experiment has never rested upon the illusion that human beings are perfect. Quite the opposite. It has endured because it recognized both the grandeur and the frailty of the human person. Ordered liberty, limited government, constitutional restraint, and moral responsibility emerged from that realistic anthropology. If America is to flourish beyond its first 250 years, it must recover the philosophical synthesis that animated both its Founding in 1776 and its rebirth in 1865—a synthesis of Jerusalem, Athens, and Philadelphia, where biblical faith, republican prudence, and ordered liberty together formed the soul of the American Republic.

The Regime Steps Up Repression on the Day of the Annual Gathering at American Diplomat Mike Hammer’s Residence

The diplomatic mission in Havana celebrates the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, and State Security responds with arrests, summonses, and police operations.

“They are a dictatorship. We all know what they’re going to do: repress and threaten,” predicted Anna Bensi.

14ymedio, Havana, July 2, 2026 — Leonardo Romero Negrín, an activist and former political prisoner from the 11 July 2021 ’11J’ protests, was arrested Wednesday night in Central Havana for taking part in a pot-banging protest. According to Lisbeth Moya González, it happened “with tremendous violence.”

“They told his family they would have information at 8:30 this morning, and now it turns out his case file can’t be found and that they’ll have news at 10,” the activist wrote on social media early Thursday. Romero Negrín, whose ribs were broken during the 11J protests and who was released under the constant threat that authorities would reopen charges of public disorder against him, was arrested, she added, “for doing what every decent Cuban should be doing right now.”

Because of this arbitrary detention, and that of Fernando Ginarte Mora two days earlier in Contramaestre (Santiago de Cuba), the Cuban Observatory for Freedom of Expression (OCLE) has issued an alert demanding their release. Ginarte Mora was arrested days after meeting with the head of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer.

This Thursday, as the U.S. mission holds its traditional annual dinner marking the Fourth of July at Hammer’s residence in Havana, dissidents have received police summonses, while independent journalists have been unable to leave their homes because of police operations deployed outside their residences.

The 14ymedio newsroom in Nuevo Vedado, was surrounded from early morning to prevent Yoani Sánchez and Reinaldo Escobar from going anywhere

This is the case of the 14ymedio newsroom, in Nuevo Vedado, which was surrounded from early morning to prevent Yoani Sánchez and Reinaldo Escobar from going anywhere. The same happened to Camila Acosta, a contributor to CubaNet and the Spanish newspaper ABC, who reported that several political police agents were monitoring her home. “The operation is stronger than usual,” she continue reading

said.

According to José Raúl Gallego, José Elías Agüero, former political prisoner Alexander Díaz, Marthadela Tamayo and Osvaldo Navarro are also being held to prevent them from attending the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.

In Pinar del Río, activists Lisandra Orraca and Irina León, members of the Latin American Federation of Rural Women (FLAMUR) and the Republican Party of Cuba, were also prevented from leaving their homes. In the same province, two days ago, State Security harassed Dagoberto Valdés and Yoandy Izquierdo, members of Convivencia, with the same objective: to prevent them from traveling to Havana to accept Mike Hammer’s invitation. According to a post by Valdés, Agent John of the political police told him he couldn’t go to the capital that day, but “that if he needed to travel to Havana another day, he should call him.” The layperson replied that “he wasn’t going to ask for permission to go to Havana.”

Anna Sofía Benítez, known on social media as Anna Bensi, received a summons ordering her to appear today at the Alamar police station. “Obviously the situation is a disaster because they do everything wrong except repress people—that’s what they’re experts at,” the influencer had said in a video. She also expressed surprise that the document read “official warning” instead of “interview,” as on previous occasions when State Security had summoned her. “They are a dictatorship. We all know what they’re going to do: repress and threaten,” she predicted.

The YouTuber siblings Betty and Abel, hosts of the program Fuera de la Caja, also received an “official warning” ordering them to report to the Diez de Octubre police station, as did Rolando Fidel Pérez, known as Pregonero de Cristo. Announcing the notification on Facebook, Pérez declared: “I have committed no crime. My only crime is thinking differently. My only crime is preaching freedom. My only crime is saying that Cuba belongs to Christ.”

“What is this ‘warning’ for?” Pérez asked, answering himself: “To silence me. To frighten me. To make me stop denouncing the blackouts, the hunger, and the prisons full of innocent people.” In a lengthy post, he held “the National Revolutionary Police, State Security, and the Cuban dictatorship responsible for anything that happens to me or my family. Any ‘accident.’ Any ‘suicide.’ Any disappearance.”

“Why does the regime mind so badly that ordinary Cubans participate in an event that celebrates freedom?”

For their part, Betty and Abel mocked the official notice because it carried the wrong date—June 2—and was barely legible due to a lack of ink, in addition to being “poorly written” and “outside all legal deadlines.” According to the young woman, “this only demonstrates that this regime treats the law as nothing more than decoration.”

The siblings’ father recorded a video denouncing that, despite the legal two-hour limit, they still had not been released. He and his wife went to the police station to demand information. “The explanation they gave us was that they had several people to interview.” By then, Betty had already been questioned and was able to briefly tell them that “everything went calmly and without any major problems,” yet she still was not allowed to leave. Abel had not yet been questioned by the officers.

State Security, therefore, found itself overwhelmed by the growing number of summonses. The fuel and resource crisis has not affected the Ministry of the Interior.

The U.S. Embassy has not remained silent in the face of these operations. “What do you think about State Security threatening Cubans who attend or come to work at events, such as the U.S. Independence Day celebration?” it asks on its official Facebook page . “Many have said that the regime is preventing them from attending our Freedom250 event. Why does it bother the regime so much that ordinary Cubans participate in an event that celebrates freedom?”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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PedroCarr Private Company Sells Viazul Tickets in Euros From Abroad

While finding any transportation in pesos has become an ordeal, the private company offers routes across the Island to those who can pay in foreign currency.

A brand-new PedroCarr bus stands out in a city battered by the transportation crisis. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, Juan Diego Rodríguez / Alejandro de Cañas, July 2, 2026 – A large PedroCarr bus, with the company’s logo prominently displayed on its side, left passersby in Central Havana astonished this Thursday. In the midst of Cuba’s transportation crisis, seeing luggage being loaded and passengers about to board is nothing short of a miracle.

PedroCarr, a private small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), has just opened a much easier option for those who can pay from abroad. On Wednesday, the company launched a digital platform to book interprovincial trips, hotel transfers, and transportation from Cuban airports, with fares listed in euros.

“Travel through Cuba with us,” the private company announces in a social media campaign. Through its new website, PedroCarr promises “fast and secure” reservations, bus rentals for excursions and events, as well as connections between the Island’s main cities and tourist destinations.

The company says its regular services in Cuban pesos will continue operating “under the same conditions and accessibility as always.” However, the launch is clearly aimed at Cubans living abroad who pay for their relatives’ travel and foreign tourists—two groups with access to hard currency in a country where the average state salary barely covers a fraction of the cost of any trip sold in euros. continue reading

PedroCarr also offers a downloadable 28-page fare schedule explicitly labeled “Viazul Service Fares”

The most striking aspect is not only the announcement itself but also the documents available on the website. PedroCarr allows users to download a 28-page fare schedule explicitly titled “Viazul Service Fares,” listing routes from airports, provincial capitals, hotels, and tourist destinations across the country.

From Terminal 3 of José Martí International Airport, for example, a transfer to Old Havana costs 10 euros. A trip to Las Tunas is listed at 44 euros, Holguín at 50 euros, Santiago de Cuba at 60 euros, and Baracoa at 74 euros. The fares include two suitcases and vary for children, round trips, and multi-destination itineraries.

The document is virtually identical to the one used by Viazul, the service operated by the state-owned National Bus Company, traditionally aimed at tourists and passengers paying in foreign currency. PedroCarr does not explain in its announcement whether it acts as an intermediary, a ticketing agency, or a transportation contractor for Viazul, nor does it specify what portion of the fare remains with the private company.

The platform presents itself as a bus transportation management and reservation system, but the network of routes it offers covers virtually the entire country, from Viñales to Baracoa, as well as airports, island resorts, and hotel complexes.

PedroCarr is not a newly created company. Cuba’s Ministry of Economy and Planning included it in its official registry of new economic actors as a private SME based in the municipality of Las Tunas, dedicated to ground passenger transportation. It was authorized in 2022 during the first major wave of small and medium-sized enterprises approved by the Government.

In February of this year, the company’s own fleet consisted of ten Yutong buses and seven Foton minibuses, in addition to another 17 leased vehicles.

Behind the business is Pedro Yosvany Carbonell Fernández, known as El Chino. The official Las Tunas newspaper 26 identified him in 2022 as the manager of what was then called Pedrocar y Socio, noting that the project began on May 8 of that year. Its original goal was to transport passengers between Las Tunas and Havana.

A Prensa Latina report published in February of this year refers to him as president of PedroCarr and states that the company operated the Havana–Puerto Padre and Havana–Las Tunas routes with fares in Cuban pesos. To acquire its buses, the private company obtained financing through an unidentified Spanish institution, arranged via Consultoría Internacional. PedroCarr also worked with foreign suppliers, including China’s Yutong Bus and Mexico’s Sunshine Best.

At that time, the company’s own fleet consisted of ten Yutong buses and seven Foton minibuses. Those 17 vehicles were supplemented by another 17 leased from the state-owned National Bus Company, giving PedroCarr a total of 34 vehicles under its management. The launch of a platform offering connections throughout the Island now points to a further expansion of its operations.

The service exists, the bus and fuel appear without problems, and reservations can be made without long lines… but in euros.

The private company’s growth has therefore taken place hand in hand with public institutions. PedroCarr has marketed transportation capacity through state bus terminals and has operated in a sector where fuel shortages, lack of spare parts, and vehicle scarcity have left numerous state-run routes paralyzed.

For a Cuban living on the Island, paying 44 euros for a trip from Havana Airport to Las Tunas amounts to tens of thousands of pesos on the informal market. For a relative paying from Miami or Madrid, however, it may be a quick solution when state-run tickets are impossible to obtain.

That contrast summarizes the direction much of the Cuban economy has taken. The service exists, the buses and fuel are readily available, and reservations can be made without long lines, but only if someone, usually from abroad, has euros.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Operation Garbage Begins in El Vedado With Only Five of the Planned 30 Tricycles

There will be inspectors to apply “severe measures” against those who put out garbage bags outside the scheduled hours.

A tricycle from the company Vedca collects waste in El Vedado. / 14ymedio

Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, July 1, 2026 — It was just a few minutes past 7 a.m. when, on 11th Street in Havana’s El Vedado neighborhood, a lone garbage bag waited beneath a palm tree for the brand-new El Rampeño service. The previous hours had been rich in information. The delegate of the Rampa People’s Council, the hyperactive Pedro Garcés, had circulated a large amount of information on social media about the waste collection zones announced Tuesday in the state press.

“Tomorrow, July 1, we begin the new solid waste collection project in these locations,” read a message listing the streets involved. The text specified that collection would be carried out door to door and stated that once the garbage had been picked up, it was “strictly prohibited” to dispose of any more waste. It also warned that, because of the new home collection service, the garbage containers would be removed the previous day.

A worker collecting garbage on the first day of the program / 14ymedio

This morning the containers were still in place, overflowing with waste, as the project’s first day got underway. Even if somewhat chaotic, it seemed better than nothing. “Don’t carry the sack all the way over there, just take the bags and bring them to the tricycle,” advised the driver of the electric vehicle from the Chinese-Cuban company Vedca, who effectively kicked off the operation. His coworker had intended to take the sack door to door, apparently unaware that its weight would increase minute by minute.

Gradually, more and more garbage bags appeared along the streets, delighting the occasional scavenger searching through them for anything salvageable. Participation in this first collection effort was modest, although given the size of the tricycle, that was probably for the best.

The first solitary garbage bag seen during a route through El Vedado. / 14ymedio

“We still don’t know where it’s headed. We’ve just started and we’re waiting for the delegate to tell us something,” the garbage collector—wearing red pants, a red cap, and gloves—told a local resident. The improvisation was obvious, since even the workers themselves did not know exactly where to go. Still, somewhat encouraged, residents wished the team success with the project.

Tuesday’s message called on “the men and women of Rampa living in the mentioned areas to maintain discipline and vigilance. Let us show from this small piece of land that it is possible to have a healthy environment. The cleanliness of my block, my greatest pride!” it concluded. continue reading

Yet at 19th and O Streets, one of the collection zones, garbage was visible both inside and outside the containers, making it clear that the initiative will need, at the very least, some time to take hold.

The containers that were supposed to have been removed Tuesday were still there at 7 a.m. / 14ymedio

The local development project El Rampeño is expected to receive 30 electric vehicles provided by the government, although only five are currently available. The charging station that will support the tricycles, other private transportation, and residents’ electrical devices is still under construction, financed in part by revenue from the municipal 1% tax on state and private enterprises. In addition, residents will be required to contribute 100 pesos per household, payable either in cash or through a QR code payment system.

According to Garcés, the main funding will not come from residents but from organizations and businesses of all kinds. “If your state company or private business is located in this area, you may also call 56275023 for the mandatory renewal of your contract if you already have one, or for a new contract if you have not previously signed one. Next week, between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. at the People’s Council headquarters (17th and K Streets), you may complete the contracting or renewal process,” stated the Gente de Barrio channel, which also clarified an issue that had remained unresolved the previous day.

At 17th and N Streets, at 9 a.m., the containers remained full of garbage even though they should have been removed the day before. / 14ymedio

Inspectors will be present “on a permanent basis” to apply “severe measures against violators,” meaning those who put out garbage outside the designated collection times. It is also known that “there may even be criminal proceedings for the offenses of disobedience or spreading epidemics.” However, no one appears responsible for the containers that should not have been there today and that continue to overflow with garbage, as they do every day.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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The U.S. Detains a Former ICAP Employee and Member of Its “Transnational Communist Subversion Network”

A Florida law that tightens restrictions on companies and officials with ties to the Island takes effect.

Carlos Lloga Domínguez is often described as a researcher and specialist in popular culture and religious traditions, having been associated for years with Casa del Caribe and the University of Oriente in Santiago de Cuba. / Facebook / Carlos Lloga Domínguez

14ymedio, Havana, July 1, 2026 — The United States government detained three Cuban citizens after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their legal status because of one of them having ties to the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), an entity sanctioned by Washington since early June.

Carlos Antonio Lloga Domínguez, his wife, and his son are in federal custody awaiting deportation, according to the State Department on Wednesday. Washington accuses Lloga Domínguez of having worked for more than a decade as a “foreign subversive” for ICAP and, after settling in the United States, of maintaining ties with the “transnational communist subversion network” linked to that institution.

The statement does not explain what specific activities the Cuban allegedly carried out in the United States, nor were criminal charges filed against him. For now, the matter is an immigration proceeding rather than a judicial case involving espionage or acting as an agent of a foreign government.

“The United States will never be a refuge for thugs of the Cuban communist regime who spread propaganda, carry out foreign influence operations, or seek to sow revolution against American civilization,” the State Department said in its statement.

The State Department also noted that the current president of ICAP, Fernando González Llort, was a member of the Wasp Network, the Cuban spy ring dismantled by federal authorities in Florida in 1998

The U.S. administration maintains that ICAP functions as the “central node” of an intelligence and influence network that claims to maintain relations with more than 2,000 organizations in about 150 countries. On June 4, the institution was added to the list of entities blocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, alongside the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and Minera La Victoria.

The State Department also noted that Fernando González Llort, ICAP’s current president, was part of the Wasp Network, the group of Cuban agents dismantled by federal continue reading

authorities in Florida in 1998. González was sentenced to 19 years in prison and returned to Cuba in February 2014 after serving approximately 15 years.

Lloga Domínguez is commonly presented as a researcher and specialist in popular culture and religious traditions, having been linked for years to Casa del Caribe and the University of Oriente in Santiago de Cuba. He is the son of actor, writer, screenwriter, and radio director Antonio Lloga Simón, a well-known figure in Santiago’s cultural life. Holding a doctorate in Cultural Sciences since 2014, Lloga conducted research on popular religiosity, espiritismo de cordón (a Cuban spiritualist practice), heritage, Caribbean identity, and traditional culture.

At Casa del Caribe, he also served as an organizer of academic events associated with the Caribbean Festival, or Fiesta del Fuego. He even chaired the institution’s Technical Advisory Council and coordinated congresses and panels on spirituality, death, funerary heritage, and Afro-Cuban culture. Washington claims he worked for ICAP for more than a decade and maintained ties with its influence network in the United States.

The detention adds to other recent measures against Cubans linked to the Island’s power structure. In late May, U.S. authorities detained Alina Rosales Aguirreurreta, daughter of General Ulises Rosales del Toro, a former vice president of the Council of Ministers.

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said the measure seeks to stop foreign governments from “infiltrating” public institutions

The case of Lloga Domínguez coincides with the entry into force on July 1 of the Foreign Interference Restriction and Enforcement Act, known by its acronym FIRE. The Florida legislation allows penalties against companies and officials connected to Cuba and other countries the state considers hostile, including Venezuela, China, Russia, Iran, Syria, and North Korea.

The law creates criminal penalties for companies based in Florida that do business with Cuba in violation of federal laws and allows municipal governments to revoke their business licenses. It also punishes the filing of false statements regarding illegal commercial operations linked to the Island.

When signing the legislation last May, Governor Ron DeSantis said the measure is intended to curb foreign governments seeking to “infiltrate” Florida’s public institutions, infrastructure, and economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba Registers a Perceptible Magnitude 3.9 Tremor in Guantánamo

The seismic movement – the eighth perceptible one so far in 2026 – was reported at 9:22 a.m. and located 41 kilometers southeast of Imías

3.9-magnitude earthquake that occurred this past Tuesday, 41 kilometers southeast of Imías, Guantánamo.

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, June 30, 2026 / A magnitude 3.9 earthquake was felt this past Tuesday in the municipality of Imías and other localities in the province of Guantánamo, in southeastern Cuba, reported the island’s National Center for Seismological Research

The seismic movement – the eighth perceptible one so far in 2026 – was reported at 9:22 a.m. and located 41 kilometers southeast of Imías, a coastal and mountainous municipality frequently noted for its seismic activity, according to the report based on data from the National Seismological Service. The Cenais bulletin indicates that, from June 28 through the early hours of June 29, four earthquakes were recorded in the Imías region with magnitudes ranging from 1.8 to 2.5.

This past June 8, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake with an epicenter in the Caribbean Sea shook Cuba’s western region, with no reports of personal injury or material damage so far. That tremor was felt throughout the entire western third of the island, from the provinces of Pinar del Río, Artemisa, La Habana, Mayabeque, and Matanzas, including the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud. continue reading

Seismic activity during 2025 recorded 4,535 seismic events in Cuba, of which 15 were perceptible.

According to Cenais specialist Enrique Arango, the area with the highest number of earthquakes last year was Pilón-Chivirico, with 1,849, the vast majority of them aftershocks of the magnitude 6.7 Pilón earthquake recorded on November 11, 2024.

The territory with the highest seismic activity in the country is the eastern region, specifically along the southern coast of the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Granma, and Guantánamo. This high level of hazard is due to its proximity to the Oriente Fault, which marks the boundary between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates.

Cuba is located in a region -stretching from the Dominican Republic to Mexico- where different tectonic fault systems converge, generating significant seismic activity.

Translated by GH.

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A Cuban Micro, Small, or Medium Enterprise (mipyme) with Foreign Capital Sells Fuel from a Cupet Warehouse in Havana

The private company A granel offers diesel at $2.50 per liter starting at a certain quantity.

A granel has been operating for only a few days, but activity is evident at its facilities. / / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, Darío Hernández, July 1, 2026 / There are few places in Havana right now as cool as the sales office of A granel, a new mipyme [MSME*] selling fuel imported from the United States that has generated a great deal of talk despite its short existence. Located in Arroyo Arenas, in the Havana municipality of La Lisa, the new private company launched this past June 27 with a video on social media featuring Cuban influencer Iraisel Pintueles, which has stirred up more controversy than information.

Amid criticism and defense, the influencer explained a few details about the mipyme: most notably, that the owner is “a private entity with capital from abroad, with no connection whatsoever to any person or member of the Government, that pays taxes, and that has its documentation and permits in order to supply fuel to other private individuals and to Cubans without State intermediation,” she noted. Little else was said.

For the moment, A granel, which already has 3,333 followers on Instagram despite its first and only post having gone up just days ago, is selling diesel at $2.50 per liter, as 14ymedio was able to confirm during a visit to the industrial warehouse located at the end of Avenida del Puerto, where the business operates. The warehouse belongs to the Cuban Lubricant Company (Cubalub), which is owned by the state-run Cupet.

New vehicles fill up with fuel at the new mipyme.

An employee did not hide her expression when the more-than-obvious display of money and resources at the mipyme was mentioned. The clientele is likewise far from modest. In the loading area this past Tuesday, several tractor-trailers could be seen loading new trucks and modern vehicles. Inside the industrial warehouse, dozens of 1,000-liter tanks were stacked up, in stark contrast to the near-total lack of fuel supply at gas stations across Havana.

Although the brief promotional clip mentioned a price of $1.75 per liter, this past Tuesday the rate was $2.50, though it remains unclear continue reading

what the minimum purchase quantity is. What is clear, however, is that not just anyone can gain access. The promotion also indicated that the process was simple: “You come and you get invoiced,” says one employee of the mipyme. The truth is that payment must be made from abroad, and only private companies may buy, although nowhere is it stated that buyers cannot resell to individuals or even to the State, despite Washington’s sanctions.

According to an employee who spoke to this newspaper, the self-employed (cuentapropistas) still cannot purchase diesel, and although authorities told them that these customers would also be authorized to do so, obstacles to this remain. Nevertheless, arranging for a mipyme to act as the formal buyer is an alternative route that is already being used.

A granel’s tanks hold 1,000 liters, and although a customer can buy a full one, as the company’s own name indicates, the customer can take whatever quantity they wish.

The situation stands in contrast to the sales that had predominated until now. “One of those 1,000-liter tanks costs 30,000 fulas [dollars, in Cuban slang]” a customer who travels to Playa Baracoa (in Bauta, Artemisa province) to buy fuel tells 14ymedio. “That works out to about three dollars a liter. People resell it for five.” The buyer explains that the minimum purchase is 3,000 liters, although some mipymes manage to buy less. “I should have gone today, even though I’m tired. Still, I go there and I feel happy, because you have to buy two or three of those things, but they sell it to me at five dollars. Generally, around here people are selling it to you for more than 20.”

The U.S. oil blockade against the Cuban regime, in effect since January 29, permits only fuel imports carried out by the private sector, which is fueling the proliferation of resale businesses. This past Tuesday, another new company emerged, Gassolina importada, which is advertising itself in Havana as offering “borderless energy at only $4.85 per liter.” Here, sales begin starting at 20 liters, according to the promotion.

“Sales prices for fuel in foreign currency will be updated, upward or downward, in accordance with the actual costs of each specific transaction,” the Cuban Government announced this past May 15. At that time, 14ymedio conducted a survey and found that not all service stations were selling at the same price. On Línea and E streets, special B-94 gasoline was priced at $2, regular B-90 at $1.90, motor-grade B-83 at $1.80, and regular diesel at $2.

A month and a half later, prices remain the same, but freely available fuel sold through the Ticket app has disappeared in Havana since May 28. Only a handful of gas stations outside the capital remain open, particularly in the provinces of Matanzas and Sancti Spíritus.

Since the United States began selling gasoline to private individuals on the island, the business has flourished, and its exports to Cuba have risen from just $87,746 in January -almost entirely oils and lubricants- to $12,375,227 in April. In total, in the first four months of the year, purchases from the island grew 74% and topped more than $291 million.

*In English, “MSME” for Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise

Translated by GH.
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Having a Full Freezer in Cuba Has Become a Cause for Concern

The energy crisis is forcing private businesses to discount ice cream, eggs, meat, and frozen chicken amid soaring inflation, while consumers turn to canned and dry goods.

Orders for “boxes of frozen chicken quarters have dropped tremendously in recent months.” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, Natalia López Moya, June 30, 2026 — The voice echoed off the peeling facades of Lawton as if auctioning off merchandise doomed to be lost. “A tub of ice cream for 1,000 pesos!” shouted a vendor this Sunday as he pushed a tricycle carrying an improvised cooler. Just minutes later he lowered the price: “Come on, now it’s 900!” The heat kept melting the product, and desperation was melting away the price. Before turning the corner, he made one last offer: “For 800, you can take four liters of delicious chocolate ice cream!” Every minute without a sale made the price smaller and the loss greater.

The scene sums up one of the less visible effects of Cuba’s energy crisis. While inflation continues pushing most prices upward, foods that depend on refrigeration have begun to defy that logic. Not because producing or importing them has become cheaper, but because preserving them has become nearly impossible.

Prolonged blackouts have changed the shopping habits of thousands of families. If a box of frozen chicken once seemed like a reasonable investment to cover a week’s meals, many now prefer to buy only what they will cook that same day. Having a full freezer no longer conveys security but concern.

If before it “was one of the best-selling products, now relatives abroad prefer to buy canned goods”

An employee of the digital platform Supermarket confirmed to 14ymedio that orders for “boxes of frozen chicken quarters have dropped tremendously in recent months.” If before it “was one of the best-selling products, now relatives abroad prefer to buy canned goods, dry foods, and perhaps a package of chicken, but they no longer take the risk of buying an entire continue reading

box.” Instead, canned sardines, preserved foods, rice, powdered milk, and dehydrated meals currently top the list of most requested products.

“Customers first ask how many hours of blackout their family’s neighborhood is scheduled to have, but that schedule is almost never followed and the outages end up lasting longer,” the worker explained. “Many choose beans, cereals, or pasta because they know food that requires freezing will cause their relatives more problems than benefits.”

The phenomenon is also visible in agricultural markets. At Tulipán, one of Havana’s commercial barometers, where for weeks prices seemed to have no ceiling, an unexpected exception appeared this weekend. A carton of eggs dropped from 3,000 to 2,700 pesos.

“Neither customers nor we ourselves have any way to preserve them,” admitted a saleswoman at one of the kiosks while a blackout had already lasted twelve hours. She frequently glanced at the stack of cartons. “Before closing, we have to sell all of this because there’s no way to keep it.”

“There are days when we manage to save the merchandise by moving it from one unit to another, but when the outage lasts more than ten or twelve hours, we start losing it”

A few yards away, at another stall displaying meat products, pork loin remained at 1,000 pesos per pound, although it had reached 1,200 just a few weeks earlier. “This is for cooking today because it’s completely thawed, and nobody in this neighborhood has a refrigerator cooling anything at this hour,” complained a customer while feeling the meat before deciding whether to buy it.

The situation is hitting small private enterprises and family businesses especially hard. Many invested thousands of dollars in industrial refrigerators, display cases, and freezers that now spend more time turned off than operating. Maintaining a private generator is prohibitively expensive because of fuel prices, and not everyone can afford battery banks or solar systems, much less import fuel from the United States.

“Every blackout is a roulette wheel,” says Ernesto, owner of a small frozen-food business in Centro Habana. “Some days we manage to save the merchandise by moving it from one unit to another, but when the outage lasts more than ten or twelve hours, we start losing quality and then we have to sell quickly, even if it means lowering the price.”

The entrepreneur has opted to keep a board in his store listing the frozen products he sells while storing them in the freezer at his home, where he adds ice whenever the power goes out. “Since my house is above the little store, if a customer wants something, I go upstairs and get it. Keeping it downstairs on display is basically the same as throwing it away.”

“You can’t charge me 500 pesos for a Cristal beer that isn’t cold,” complained a customer at a café on Ayestarán Street

The market has begun rewarding products such as canned goods, dried beans, pasta, cookies, and powdered milk. Not only do they last longer, but they also represent a kind of insurance policy against an electrical system incapable of providing stability.

This shift in consumer habits is taking place while the National Electric System is experiencing one of its most critical moments. In recent weeks, the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant went offline again just two days after returning to service due to new breakdowns in the deteriorated economizer of its boiler. The shutdown once again pushed the projected deficit above 2,000 megawatts and forced authorities to extend blackouts even further, in a context already marked by other damaged generating units and fuel shortages.

“You can’t charge me 500 pesos for a Cristal beer that isn’t cold,” complained a customer at a café on Ayestarán Street. The manager immediately shot back: “Nobody on this street has anything cold. Either you pay that price or you don’t drink it, because I can’t lower it any more.”

The losses for private merchants are severe. The ice cream vendor in Lawton eventually moved on with several tubs still on his tricycle. Left behind was the echo of his successive price cuts and neighbors eager to enjoy a cold dessert but fearful they would not be able to keep it from melting.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘Everything Bad That Can Happen, Is Happening’: A Breakdown Leaves Havana Without Manufactured Gas

Without electricity, without water, and now without the last fuel to which part of the capital’s population still had access.

In Guanabacoa, where several residents had experienced more than 28 hours without electricity by Tuesday, the day also began without power or water. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, June 30, 2026 – This Tuesday, the 14ymedio newsroom, located in Nuevo Vedado, woke up without a supply of manufactured gas. It was not an isolated situation: from several parts of Havana, residents quickly confirmed the same problem. “No electricity, no water, no connection, and no gas,” repeated a resident of Luyanó like a mantra.

A brief statement from the Manufactured Gas Company confirmed the interruption early in the morning. “Due to an unforeseen force majeure technical issue detected in the natural gas delivery and reception system, a pressure drop has occurred that has affected the distribution network,” the entity explained.

[View video here]

The company added that its specialized technical personnel were already “carrying out diagnostic and repair work on the issue as quickly as possible,” without providing an estimated time for restoring service.

The lack of information has left tens of thousands of Havana residents wondering how long the outage will last. The interruption affects one of the few energy services that had still been functioning with relative stability in part of the capital. Liquefied gas in cylinders has disappeared from the state supply system and can only be found for foreign currency, making it inaccessible to most Cubans.

“People can’t take it anymore. Those who ask you to ‘endure’ have electricity, water, food, everything”

In Havana, manufactured gas also powers small generators that many residents have purchased to cope with continue reading

power outages. It was the solution they had found by taking advantage of the only fuel still available. A resident of the Cerro municipality told this newspaper what consequences the sudden popularity of these generators could have: “That means that at any moment they are going to raise the price of gas on the street or simply cut it off.”

In Guanabacoa, where several residents had already gone more than 28 hours without electricity by Tuesday, the day also began without power or water. Among residents, complaints and a sense of abandonment predominate, but today any possibility of protest is being watched by police and military personnel, who patrol at night and circulate through the neighborhoods.

“There is nothing left: the only things there are are blackouts and police in the streets,” says one resident, adding: “People can’t take it anymore. Those who ask you to ‘endure’, they have electricity, water, food, everything.”

Videos recorded by 14ymedio show crowds engaged in what has become their daily routine: long lines in front of basic services. Many of those residents are simply waiting to collect their monthly salaries, which average around 3,000 pesos—approximately five dollars—at a time when a liter of cooking oil can cost as much as 2,000 pesos.

“There is nothing left: the only things there are are blackouts and police in the streets”

“Everything bad that can happen is happening,” summarizes another resident waiting in line, visibly exhausted.

Another explains how the crisis is deepening economic differences. “There are people investing thousands of dollars in solar panels. Installing a system with batteries to have electricity all day costs about $5,000. Who can afford that?”

The sustained accumulation of shortages gradually wears down the resilience of any human being. A blackout, a water outage, or a gas shortage may be bearable as isolated events. But the prolonged accumulation of these simultaneous hardships is exhausting the population’s patience.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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A Cuban Soccer Talent Lands in Panama

Didier Reinoso, 19, will join Veraguas United FC in that country’s First Division.

Didier Reinoso has a one-year contract, according to sources consulted by 14ymedio. / Didier Reinoso/ Instagram

14ymedio, Matanzas, Andy Lans, June 30, 2026 / Cuban soccer player Didier Reinoso, known as Bodoque, landed in Panama this past Sunday, June 28, to join Veraguas United FC in that country’s First Division. According to information obtained by 14ymedio, he has signed a one-year contract, and his incorporation into the first team is expected.

Bodoque, as he is nicknamed, is a skillful left-footed player born in 2007, capable of playing as a winger or attacking midfielder. He also stands out for his good dribbling, vision of play, and long-range shooting. With his native Havana, he won national championships at both junior and senior levels; however, the greater weight of his resume comes from his performances with Cuban national teams.

With Cuba’s under-17 team, he took part in the CONCACAF U-17 Championship held in Guatemala in 2023, where he scored three goals on eight shots, with one assist, eight key passes, and seven fouls drawn in 351 minutes across four matches. The following year, he again wore the jersey of the Caribbean Lions in the CONCACAF U-20 Championship held in Mexico. From that event, it is remembered that Reinoso scored the decisive penalty in the quarterfinal shootout against Honduras, settling the match 5-3 after a 1-1 draw in regulation time. That penalty secured qualification for the 2025 U-20 World Cup in Chile, since by reaching the semifinals, Cuba earned one of the four available berths to the world tournament, in which Reinoso also saw playing time.

Although Bodoque received offers to play in European soccer, those around him favored this option in Panama so that the player could complete his development in a mid-level league. At the same time, the young Cuban forward will look to build up his physical strength. He is represented by the agency IDUB Global, the same agency that manages renowned figures such as Arsenal’s Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi and Cuban international Jorge Aguirre.

Translated by GH

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