Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

Cuba to Have Wholesale Markets for Products Sold by State and Private Companies

Neighborhood markets are also being created, which may be run by private operators, for the sale of 16 basic foodstuffs and five hygiene products

The new markets put an end to the state monopoly on wholesale trade. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, August 5, 2026 / The overwhelming shortages in Cuba’s markets have forced another novelty through which the Government is seeking to include private operators in a mixed trade model that puts an end to the state monopoly over bodegas and wholesale markets. The legislative package, published this past Tuesday in the Official Gazette, does not resolve the question of access to foreign currency and goods, and also creates an additional problem: the coexistence of two currencies in supply establishments.

Of the set of regulations, three are intended for the creation of the “neighborhood markets,” as these outlets will be known, for the sale of a series of basic necessity products listed in the law itself, namely powdered milk, ground meat, hamburger, chicken, sausage, eggs, vegetable oil, tomato puree, pasta, noodles, grains, rice, sugar, wheat flour, instant soup, coffee, detergent, soap, toilet paper, deodorant, and toothpaste.

The establishments will be state-owned commercial premises that until now have been empty or semi-empty and that will be put out to tender

The establishments will be state-owned commercial premises that until now have been empty or semi-empty and that will be put out to tender so that MSMEs, cooperatives, foreign investors, and self-employed workers can operate them. As an incentive, the private operator is exempt from paying rent during the first two years, and if they invest money in fitting out the property, that amount will be deducted from the percentage of profits they must contribute to the state owner.

The products sold at these markets will receive a 5% discount on the sales tax, in order to prevent prices from skyrocketing, something that has been happening in recent days precisely with oil, which last week was selling for around 3,000 pesos and is already being seen in some stores at double that price.

The monetary issue remains less clear. Neighborhood markets will operate in Cuban pesos, although electronic commerce is authorized, with payments from abroad in foreign currency. This would allow the Government to obtain foreign currency if relatives abroad continue reading

begin making use of online purchases with dollars, although it also deepens the gap that already exists between those who have access only to the national currency and the privileged few who do not depend solely on their salary or pension.

A side effect of this duality could be the tendency of the private merchant to set the product price – now that it is not capped – according to the informal dollar exchange rate, in order to be able to import as they have done until now.

In an attempt to prevent this, the Government has simultaneously created the wholesale market abasto.cu. Through these establishments, individuals and businesses will be able to buy wholesale in different formats. The Official Gazette defines these warehouses as an “area where sellers and buyers converge, maintaining commercial relationships with multiple transactions, under the principle of supply and demand,” one of the pillars of capitalism.

The Official Gazette defines these warehouses as an “area where sellers and buyers converge, maintaining commercial relationships with multiple transactions, under the principle of supply and demand”

The wholesale markets will be open primarily to companies, private operators, national and local producers, importers, marketers, and foreign investors. In addition, a membership system is being introduced that is very similar to the membership cards found in the large wholesale markets of any city in the world, with discounts for regular buyers and other benefits.

As with the neighborhood markets, these too will be able to operate in national and foreign currency, something that will also have repercussions for import possibilities. At a time when domestic production is at rock bottom, imports of these products from the US, which are exempt from the embargo, are almost the only option for filling the warehouses, especially since major shipping lines have ceased operations to Cuban ports because of sanctions from the State Department.

This limitation has resulted, according to two experts cited by Reuters, in the loss of 60% of maritime traffic for the island. However, for US exporters, who can take advantage of licenses for the sale of food, an opportunity is opening up.

Translated by GH.

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Discontent Within a Sector of the Cuban Regime Over the 176 Reforms and the Prominent Role of ‘The Crab’

While Díaz-Canel insists that socialism is not being abandoned, some members of the single party and intellectuals warn against “the country’s return to a pure and hard capitalist regime.”

A man rests outdoors a block from the Government headquarters in 24 de Febrero. The wall reads: “All for the Revoution” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, August 4, 2026 / Although for more than six decades the main decisions of the Cuban leadership have been accepted with the same “unanimity” and vertical discipline, without public debate or democratic consultations, the new economic reforms promoted by the regime and the recent prominence of Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro – grandson and protégé of Raúl Castro, known as El Cangrejo, The Crab – have revealed the discontent of sectors within the communist apparatus itself.

In the recent session of the National Assembly, where a package of 176 measures restructuring the economy and state administration was approved, top leaders insisted that the changes do not represent a renunciation of the political and economic model the regime has defended for more than six decades. Faced with critiques that interprets them as an opening to the market, President Miguel Díaz-Canel reiterated during the closing session: “The transformations we are implementing today are not for more capitalism, but to defend and advance socialist construction.”

“The transformations we are implementing today are not for more capitalism, but to defend and advance in the construction of socialism.”

That does not appear to be the interpretation of some sectors within the official regime itself. Some political figures, intellectuals, and activists believe that the opening implied by the reforms breaks with historical tenets of Cuban socialism or that, at the very least, it will favor new power groups over the population. Díaz-Canel himself had already admitted in an interview with the Puerto Rican newspaper Claridad that there are “divided opinions” within the Communist Party regarding these measures. “These are measures that have contradictions, that have risks.”

Very severe criticisms have come from sectors of the official left. The digital media outlet Punto y Aparte [literally ‘period, new paragraph’], which presents itself as an alternative left-wing platform comprised of members of the Communist Party and the Union of Young Communists, denounces in an editorial that some reforms “imply the country’s return to a pure and simple capitalist regime, that will accentuate inequalities.”

“Today the nation walks a tightrope: on one side, imperial voracity and the promise of invasion and death; on the other, the arrogance and pettiness of a group of officials and continue reading

businessmen who have already shown too many times that they are not up to the historical moment,” Punto y Aparte publishes.

The media outlet demands that, in order to “redirect this period of change towards a horizon of equity,” popular participation must be called for “with a demand for even further review and modification for all those measures that threaten to plunge the people into poverty, precariousness and defenselessness…”

These preoccupations had already been raised by critics of the regime from other perspectives. Cuban economist Pedro Monreal qualified the package of measures as “anti-worker” because, he argued, “it does not balance the rights of workers and employers within an economy governed by market rules. Nor does it recognize democratic mechanisms of checks and balances for workers in the workplace.”

Furthermore, a document obtained by the EFE news agency, signed by members of the Communist Party and titled “Promoting Socialism from People’s Power,” states that some measures “far exceed what has historically been considered acceptable and even contradict the traditional representations of socialism among our people.” The text also demands that these transformations be openly debated within the communities.

Another of the critical voice within the ruling party itself has been that of Alejandro Sánchez, secretary of the Union of Young Communists at the University of Havana. “The necessary discussion is who will be the real beneficiaries of these transformations. If the answer is ‘everyone,’ that would be false,” he wrote. Sánchez also calls for greater popular participation in these decisions: “That power cannot be exercised solely from above; it must also come from greater popular participation and oversight. This latter point remains a shortcoming of the Cuban political system.”

“That power cannot be exercised solely from above; it must also come from greater popular participation and oversight. This latter point remains a shortcoming of the Cuban political system.”

Some of the reforms have also been criticized by the scientific community. Among the measures approved was the Law on the Organization of the Central State Administration, which, as part of the reduction of the government apparatus, led to the elimination of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) and the redistribution of its institutions between two new ministries. The head of the National Seismological Service, Enrique Diego Arango Arias, described the agency’s elimination as a “grave error” and criticized the fact that the measure was adopted without consulting the workers or presenting any supporting studies.

“More than a few specialists, including many founders, have opposed this dismantling. We opposed it because this decision was never preceded by an explanation or an analysis with the workers and directors of these institutions; the reasons were never explained to us,” he wrote. He also warned that the disappearance of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) amidst the country’s current crisis jeopardizes the stability of internationally recognized scientific institutions and undermines the morale of their professionals.

The other element of controversy for these sectors is the role that Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro has been assuming. Raúl Castro’s grandson and bodyguard acknowledged in an interview with USA Today the privileges he enjoys and presented himself as one of the Cuban side’s interlocutors in contacts with the US, despite not holding any known public office. This position has drawn criticism even from within the government.

Michel Torres Corona, presenter of the program Con Filo, publicly questioned Rodríguez Castro and Sandro Castro about the privileges that both grandsons display on social networks and in public spaces: “There is no harangue or complaint that calms the indignation caused by these fruits of ‘socialist’ nepotism: what justifies their impunity?”

In statements to EFE, Torres Corona defended the existence of “very heterogeneous” positions within the Island and affirmed that these can be expressed “even from critical or divergent positions,” as long as unity is not broken.
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The National Power Grid Is Restored While Cubans Continue To Wait for Electricity To Return

The blackout, which in some places lasted for more than three days, sparked new protests in Havana

A lineman for the electric company works in the Havana municipality of Diez de Octubre this Tuesday. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, August 4, 2026 / Cuba’s Electric Union (UNE) finally reported this Tuesday that the National Electric System (SEN) was restored at 11:35 a.m., following the double blackout that the island suffered over the past three days. According to the state-owned company, the commissioning of Unit 8 at the Máximo Gómez Thermoelectric Power Plant allowed for the restoration of the grid’s interconnection.

The announcement came after several hours of work to gradually restore the electrical grid during the early morning hours of Tuesday. Hours before the reconnection of the National Electric System (SEN), the National Electric Union (UNE) had reported that the national system was already connected from Pinar del Río to Holguín, while work continued to bring back power to the eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Granma.

In Havana, the recovery was progressing partially. The company reported that 124 of the capital’s 286 distribution circuits had electricity service, benefiting 42% of the city’s population. Power had also been restored to 43 out of 45 hospitals and to 9 out of 18 water pumping systems.

“There’s been no electricity for three days, there’s nothing, and no leader has arrived.”

But UNE’s announcement didn’t match the experience of its customers. On social media, many users complained that they were still experiencing power outages lasting between 50 and 72 hours. The state-owned company had to add a clarification to its official reports: “Remember that you may be affected by other causes even if your circuit has been restored. Of the restored circuits, 56 are affected by power shortages and 9 by malfunctions.”

The blackout, which in some areas lasted for more than three days, sparked new protests, according to testimonies gathered by Martí Noticias. On Inquisidor Street continue reading

, between Luz and Acosta, in the Belén neighborhood of Old Havana, residents staged a pot-banging protest. “There’s been no electricity for three days, nothing, and no one from the government has come,” said one resident. On Obispo Street, in the same municipality, further protests were reported, with residents banging pots and pans after 48 hours of blackout.

The fact that the National Electric System (SEN) has been restored does not mean that Cubans will once again have normal electricity service. In Havana, residents are surviving on intermittent power outages lasting less than three hours and blackouts that can last up to 20 hours at a time. In the provinces, the situation is even more critical.

The fact that the National Electric System (SEN) has been restored does not mean that Cubans will once again have normal electricity service.

The UNE attributed the SEN relapse that occurred on Monday afternoon to “adverse weather events” that affected the electrical grid and directly impacted the generating units that had already been synchronized to the system.

The latest nationwide blackout once again highlights the fragility of Cuba’s electrical system. In March, Cuba suffered two nationwide blackouts in less than a week, and in July, three more total blackouts occurred in just eight days.

The Cuban government again attributed the situation to the US embargo. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stated on social media that the electrical grid outages are “direct consequences of the genocidal US blockade against Cuba,” and pointed out that the sanctions hinder the arrival of parts, international cooperation, and access to financing.

But the energy crisis was already severe before the new US restrictions against Cuba. The island has suffered twelve nationwide blackouts in two years due to a combination of factors, including the obsolescence of its electrical system, lack of maintenance, and fuel shortages. Problems that had accumulated over years worsened in 2016 with the oil embargo that the US government imposed on the Cuban regime in January, which has completely cut off crude oil imports.

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Electrical System Linked From Pinar Del Río to Holguín, but the Blackout Has Already Reached More Than 50 Hours

Rain and electrical storms caused an oscillation that triggered the second collapse of the National Electric System (SEN) in less than 24 hours this Monday

An “oscillation” caused a new collapse of the system and wiped out the progress made during the day

14ymedio, Madrid, August 4, 2026 / The National Electric System (SEN) has been linked since this morning from Pinar del Río to Holguín, with the three easternmost provinces still to be added. The reconnection, however, has not yet translated into power for the population, which is complaining on social media about blackouts lasting 50 to 72 hours in a row. This was the second total collapse of the SEN in less than 24 hours, and the seventh so far this year.

This morning, Cuba’s Electric Union said that unit 6 of the Diez de Octubre thermoelectric plant came online shortly after 8:20 a.m., contributing “to the recovery process.” The latest information from Havana indicates that 22 of the capital’s 26 substations were providing service. Only 38% of the population – 325,785 of the 862,732 customers – had power through the 108 recovered circuits, out of a total of 286. In addition, 40 of the city’s 45 hospitals have power, as do seven of the 18 pumping stations and main water supply sources.

The provincial Electric Company noted that “some users may continue to be affected even when their circuit has been restored, due to other causes. Of the restored circuits, 18 show effects from a generation deficit and seven from breakdowns.” This is the case at 14ymedio’s editorial office, where the blackout has already reached 40 hours. continue reading

The counterpoint is Santiago de Cuba, where four sectionalized circuits remain in service “to guarantee the electricity supply to vital centers by means of microsystems.”

The counterpoint is Santiago de Cuba, where four sectionalized circuits remain in service “to guarantee the electricity supply to vital centers by means of microsystems.”

Yadier Ruiz, director of the load dispatch office in Villa Clara, gave a provincial update at dawn this Tuesday. During the day, the priority would be to link the system through Cienfuegos. “If that is achieved,” he said before the reconnection, “the outlook should improve, increasing the availability of power in the province and the number of circuits in service,” he added, though he admitted that most of the population has remained in the dark since Sunday night, when the first collapse occurred.

“The Palmarito water pumping station in Santa Clara and all hospitals currently have electricity, except those located in Remedios and Caibarién, which are being sustained by their own generators. As of this report, Villa Clara had only 22 MW available and 16 lit circuits,” he said around 6:30 a.m.

The collapse of the SEN occurred Monday at 5:00 p.m., just a few hours after the slow recovery began from the collapse that occurred Sunday night. Official media reported that an “oscillation” caused a new disconnection of the system and wiped out the progress made during the day.

“In the process of restoring the SEN, the existing weather events caused damage to the grid, directly affecting the generating units that were online,” reported on social media the pro-government journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso.

Around 5:00 p.m., official media reported: “A new disconnection of the national electric system occurred a few minutes ago. Despite the progress made today, an oscillation caused the collapse.” Half an hour later, the Electric Union (UNE) reported that the reconnection protocol had begun. “We continue working intensively to reverse this situation and achieve the restoration of the system as soon as possible.”

Shortly after 5:00 p.m., rain and electrical storms caused an oscillation that knocked the Energás Boca de Jaruco units and one Santa Cruz del Norte unit out of the system

Félix Estrada, director of the load dispatch office of the Electric Union, appeared again on Canal Caribe at 8:00 p.m. to explain what had happened. The official said that shortly after 5:00 p.m., rain and electrical storms caused an oscillation that knocked the Energás Boca de Jaruco units and one Santa Cruz del Norte unit out of the system. At that point, the system had been linked from Pinar del Río to Cienfuegos, but it had to start over.

As the engineer spoke, unit 4 of Energás Boca de Jaruco and the transmission network substations of Diezmero, Naranjito, Melones, Cotorro, Regla and Guanabacoa were already generating power.

“We continue moving forward in restoring our Electric System, overcoming all kinds of difficulties, under a total energy blockade, with a great deal of effort and commitment,” wrote Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy on social media. “The speech is very positive, but the reality is very negative. Please, set aside your comfort and react. This country cannot go on like this,” a user replied to him.

The new collapse occurred while the SEN had still not recovered from the total blackout recorded this Sunday at 10:43 p.m. Throughout Monday, UNE worked to restore service through microsystems and the gradual incorporation of some power plants. Monday’s recovery was very limited. The priority remained ensuring service to hospitals, water pumping facilities and other centers considered essential.

Around 5:00 p.m., the electric company in Villa Clara reported that a failure occurred at the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant and, as a result, “some of the circuits that had been restored, including those serving hospitals, were again left without electric service.”
Posts on social media announced that in Villa Clara, a breakdown had “left the Cardiocentro, the Celestino Hernández Oncology Hospital and the Santa Clara Military Hospital without service.”

In Matanzas there were also problems reaching the Faustino Pérez Hospital, which was resolved through a microsystem using the Guanábana batteries.

A failure occurred at the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant and, as a result, “some of the circuits that had been restored, including those serving hospitals, were left without electric service”

At the time of the total disconnection, Havana had 23 substations online, benefiting 50% of the population and 38 hospitals.

For its part, the Cuban Telecommunications Company (Etecsa) reported interruptions in cell phone service following the breakdown of the generator that backs up one of the main mobile network centers. According to the company, the problems affect numbers beginning with the prefixes 52, 509, 598 and 599.

Expert Jorge Piñón, a researcher at the University of Texas, had told 14ymedio in advance that weather conditions could also affect the “islands” built with solar power. The weather service had reported cloud cover over much of Cuba, which, in the specialist’s view, highlighted “the structural challenge of solar energy without a storage system or transmission line system to distribute the electricity generated by renewables to consumers.”

With this new collapse of the SEN, the recovery process of the electric system will have to start over from scratch, prolonging the blackout affecting the entire country.

Translated by GH.
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In Mariel, Banking Is Rejected: “Here, Everything Is in Cash and in Large Bills or Dollars”

The official newspaper Escambray publishes a report on the systematic violation of the regulation in the free trade zone and across the rest of the country

Many private businesses display signs or QR codes for payment through the bank, but they try to avoid the regulation as much as possible. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, August 4, 2026 / Although Cuban legislation requires that payments in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM) go through the banking system, so that accounts can be monitored according to international standards, reality is different. That is what a report published this Tuesday by the official Sancti Spíritus newspaper Escambray reveals, showing that none of the regulatory efforts aimed at eliminating cash are working on the island.

The article, the first in a series, draws on testimonies from private merchants and business owners who explain the failed push toward banking. Three years ago now, in August 2023, the authorities established – through Resolution 111/2023 – a set of rules limiting cash payments to 5,000 pesos and requiring all economic actors to take the necessary steps to be able to collect payment by transfer. Customers were free to choose how to pay, but sellers were obligated to accept whatever method they were told to.

The system has never worked the way the government intended. Cubans’ distrust of the banking system, and of putting their money – with its highly volatile value – in the hands of financial institutions, has been among the main causes. In addition, private businesses have needed cash to buy dollars on the black market, which are essential for importing goods and continuing to stock their businesses, and this has prevented money from recirculating: as a result, banks lack cash and customers cannot, in practice, withdraw what they have deposited. The country’s high inflation has made the situation worse.

“That business about payment by transfer being the law – only you believe that, reporter”

“I have three months’ salary trapped on my card, and I’m in debt,” a Cuban woman tells Escambray, showing the reporter 1,000 pesos and explaining that she hasn’t been able to withdraw any more. “I can’t even buy myself a snack with that,” says another woman who received the same amount despite having been waiting in line since 3 a.m. Although just a few days ago – in mid-July – the Central Bank of Cuba issued a new resolution eliminating the 5,000-peso limit, the consequences remain to be seen. “That business about payment by transfer being the law – only you believe that, reporter,” one of the interviewees snaps at the journalist. continue reading

The regulation, the reporter states bluntly, “is one of the most widely violated in Cuba.” Refusals to accept payment by transfer have been extensively documented by the press, both official and independent, including 14ymedio, but the scale of the problem is even greater than previously known. Some sellers, the article notes, have taken to charging a kind of toll for accepting bank payments, something the law expressly prohibits, but which the liberalization of prices – now that price caps have been eliminated – could help conceal.

“There’s no other option – right there in Mariel (Development Zone) everything is in cash and in large bills or dollars,” says one interviewee, who then adds, as his phone rings: “Look, I have to run, because this guy is going to give me cash in exchange for a transfer at 20 percent. Yesterday it was at 35.”

“There’s no other option – right there in Mariel (Development Zone) everything is in cash and in large bills or dollars”

The regulations governing the ZEDM are clear. Since its creation in 2013, the law has established that “concession holders and users open accounts at the banking institutions of their choice established in the Zone, through which they carry out the collections and payments arising from their operations.” There is additional legislation surrounding the obligations of those operating in the enclave, such as Resolutions 342/2021 and 117/2020. In principle, cash is intended only for very minor petty-cash transactions or consumer expenses by those working in the zone, never for wholesale buying and selling. Since the purpose of this zone was to encourage foreign investment – which has fallen far short of what was expected – traceability was meant to be the rule.

The reporter, who gathers a wide range of testimonies from merchants who claim they cannot accept transfers if they want to retain purchasing power afterward, visits, as part of her reporting, a fair in Sancti Spíritus where, she states, the law is enforced only under the threat of inspection. However, as soon as it’s possible, people try to evade it. “Take down the little sign (Transfers accepted), pal, you’re going to ruin business for us,” says the owner of a smoked-meat stand.

Eidy Rojas González, who runs a meat stand, says she has more than 800,000 pesos stuck in her card that she cannot withdraw, and that she even filed a complaint against the bank in Cabaiguán, though it agreed to give her 200,000 once it had the money. “I told them: ‘Can you give me a piece of paper so that when an inspector comes I can tell him: I, Eidy Rojas González, have all my money in the bank, I can’t accept a transfer’? But the bank couldn’t care less about that. In the countryside, nobody will sell you a pig that way,” she laments.

“Since January I’ve been registered with the bank and there’s no way they’ll give me a single peso. How exactly do they expect us to accept transfers?”

Another vendor says a woman complained because he wouldn’t accept transfers. “I told her: Can you read? Read this: ‘Two million and change.’ Since January I’ve been registered with the bank and there’s no way they’ll give me a single peso. How exactly do they expect us to accept transfers?”

The testimonies are numerous and reveal the harsh reality of the situation, though many questions remain unanswered: “How many businesses have been shut down, and how many owners have faced legal action? What do the banking compliance commissions do with the lists of violators? Why are bank deposits nearly bankrupt? Why do inspectors only act when there’s a complaint about a refusal to accept transfer payments? Will fines solve the cash payment problem?” the outlet asks. We’ll have to wait for the second installment of the series to find out the answer.

Translated by GH.

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Two Venezuelans Will Be Deported for a Riot at a Center in Mexico Where 40 Cubans Are Being Held

The incidents occurred at the Siglo XXI immigration station in Tapachula, where foreigners are extorted by Mexican officials.

The Venezuelans were arrested and taken to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, where they will be processed for immediate deportation. / Facebook/Pedro Gerardo López

14ymedio, Angel Salinas, Mexico City, August 3, 2026 / Venezuelans Henderson Villaroel Chopite and Howard David Caballero are accused of causing disturbances and setting fire to a mattress used in the dormitories of the Siglo XXI immigration station, located in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, where 40 Cubans are being held, several of them “deported by the US.”

The Venezuelans were detained and taken to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, where they will be processed for immediate deportation, security sources reported. The National Migration Institute (INM) indicated that the protests stemmed from “the dissatisfaction of a group of foreign nationals with their immigration process.”

According to Luis García Villagrán, coordinator of the Center for Human Dignity A.C., this “immigrant prison” is where foreigners deported by the U.S. government are taken. “They are held here against their will for more than 10 days,” he told 14ymedio. They are locked up under the pretext of waiting to find out if Cuba will accept them, but “in reality, that time is used to extort them.”

García Villagrán asserts that the INM commissioner, Sergio Salomón Céspedes, “is aware” of the lack of transparency within the immigration station and the money that agents demand from “the relatives of Cubans who are in the United States and continue reading

on the Island.”

García Villagrán states that during Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, there are reports of “three deaths” inside the immigration station.

The migrants “are being held incommunicado and are unable to receive legal counsel.” Those with money “are forced to hire lawyers suggested by the agents, people who extort between 30,000 pesos (US$1,730) and 60,000 pesos (US$3,460) to release them” without papers.

According to García Villagrán, in the administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, there are reports of “three people dead” inside the Siglo XXI immigration station, so he demanded the resignation of the coordinator of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar), Yadira de los Santos Robledo, and the head of Migration in Tapachula, Farah Gertrudis Cerdio Moisés.

Last Saturday, disturbances were reported inside the facility. The migrants were demanding their release after learning of their deportation to their countries of origin. According to data updated through October 2025, the National Migration Institute (INM) deported 21 Cubans for “providing false information and documents and for illegally re-entering the country.” In addition, 74 other migrants and two children were returned to the island through “assisted returns.”

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Cuba Suffers Another Nationwide Blackout in Less Than 24 Hours

A failure at the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant left hospitals in Villa Clara without electricity, and the authorities attribute the collapse to “weather incidents.”

A failure at the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant left hospitals in Villa Clara without electricity, and authorities attribute the collapse to “weather incidents.”

14ymedio, Madrid, August 3, 2026 / Just hours after the slow recovery began from Sunday night’s blackout, Cuba suffered another total power outage. Official media reported Monday afternoon that a “fluctuation” caused the system to fail again, undoing the progress made earlier in the day.

“In the process of reestablishing the National Electric System (SEN), existing weather events caused damage to the network, directly impacting the generating units that were online,” reported pro-government journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso on his social media .

Around 5 i the afternon, official media reported: “A new blackout occurred a few minutes ago in the national electrical grid. Despite the progress made today, an oscillation caused the outage.”

Half an hour later, the Electric Union (UNE) reported that the process of restoring the system had begun: “We continue working intensively to reverse this situation and achieve the restoration of the system as soon as possible.”

The new collapse occurred while the National Electric System (SEN) was still recovering from the total blackout that occurred Sunday at 10:43 p.m. During all of Monday, UNE worked to restore service using microsystems and the gradual reintegration of some power plants. Monday’s recovery was very limited. The priority remained ensuring service to hospitals, water pumping stations, and other facilities deemed essential. continue reading

A failure occurred at the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant and as a result, “some of the circuits that had been restored, including those corresponding to hospitals, were left without electricity.”

Around 5:00 p.m., the electric company in Villa Clara reported a failure at the Hanabanilla hydroelectric plant, and as a result, “some of the circuits that had been restored, including those serving hospitals, lost power again.” Social media posts announced that in Villa Clara, a breakdown had “left the Cardiocenter, the Celestino Hernández Cancer Center, and the Santa Clara Military Hospital were left without electricity.”

At the time of the total disconnection, there were 23 substations online in Havana, benefiting 50% of the population and 38 hospitals.

The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas began a cold start on Monday morning to synchronize with the grid overnight. The plant, the country’s largest power generation facility, has suffered from years of deterioration and lack of maintenance, and has broken down more than 20 times this year, so user expectations were minimal.

For its part, the Cuban Telecommunications Company (Etecsa) reported cell phone service interruptions following a breakdown of the generator that supports one of the main mobile network centers. According to the company, the problems are affecting numbers beginning with the prefixes 52, 509, 598, and 599.

Expert Jorge Piñón, a researcher at the University of Texas, had warned that weather conditions could affect the “islands” that allow for the gradual reconnection of the National Electric System (SEN). The meteorological service had reported cloud cover over much of Cuba, which, in the specialist’s opinion, highlighted “the structural challenge of solar energy without a storage system or transmission lines to distribute the electricity generated by renewables to consumers.”

With this new collapse of the SEN, the process of recovering the electrical system will have to start again from scratch, prolonging the blackout that affects the entire country.

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Popular Cuban Actress Paula Alí dies at 88

The winner of the 2026 National Television Award was one of the most beloved faces for several generations of Cubans

Television was the space that made Paula Alí especially close to the Cuban public. / Facebook/Paula Alí

14ymedio, Madrid, August 3, 2026 / Cuban actress Paula Alí, one of the best-known and most beloved performers among audiences on the island and winner of the 2026 National Television Award, died this Monday at 88. The news was announced by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) through a statement.

The organization highlighted her extensive career in television, film, and theater, which began more than six decades ago. It added that the actress was capable of taking on “with equal skill dramatic characters of profound emotional intensity,” although it was in comedy where she left “an especially endearing mark,” thanks to “a professionalism, a naturalness, and a charisma” that set her apart.

Paula Andrea Alí Rivera was born on January 26, 1938, in Candelaria, in what is now Artemisa province. Her first artistic work came in 1959, when she began as a model and television extra. From then on she built a career that took her through the country’s leading stages and made her a familiar face for several generations of Cubans.

Her connection to theater included a stage at the Martí Theater, where she worked in the vernacular genre and bufo theater. In 1970 she joined Teatro Estudio, a company with which she maintained a relationship for decades. She also took part in productions by El Público, directed by Carlos Díaz, in which she starred in La Celestina. continue reading

She was also fondly remembered for the character of Dr. Rosa Matriz in the comedy program ‘Punto G,’ one of the roles that cemented her popularity

In film she appeared in more than 30 productions of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (Icaic). Among her best-known films are Cartas del Parque (1988), Lista de espera (2000), Nada (2001), and El cuerno de la abundancia (2008). For her performance in Nada, directed by Juan Carlos Cremata, she received the award for Best Actress at the Cartagena de Indias Festival in Colombia in 2003.

However, television was the space that made her especially close to the Cuban public, with roles in telenovelas such as Enamorada del mar (1989), Las huérfanas de la Obrapía (1999), and Vuelve a mirar (2021). She was also fondly remembered for the character of Dr. Rosa Matriz in the comedy program Punto G, one of the roles that cemented her popularity.

Last July she received the 2026 National Television Award, granted in recognition of more than 60 years of uninterrupted work

Throughout her career she received numerous honors. In 1990 she won the Uneac Award and the Segismundo Award for her performance in the monologue Una mujer sola. Four years later she won the Caracol Award for the telenovela El año que viene. She was also honored with the Pequeña Pantalla Award and the Special Maestra de Generaciones Award, both in 2021, in addition to the Distinction for National Culture.

Last July she received the 2026 National Television Award, granted in recognition of more than 60 years of uninterrupted work in Cuban television, theater, and film.

The affection she inspired in the public was evident in 2024 when, after being hospitalized, she received hundreds of messages of support. She publicly thanked the outpouring of affection with a video shared on social media: “I am very moved to see so much affection. It’s something indescribable.” Two years later, that same affection is reflected once again in the farewells of colleagues and viewers who grew up watching her on the small screen.

Translated by GH.

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The Cuban Regime Stays Silent on a British Ruling Ordering It to Pay $24 Million

The amount is related to the case of the debt with the CRF fund, this time for damages to the creditor

The National Bank of Cuba is now a commercial entity, but until 1997 it had the functions of a Central Bank. / Miguel Discart/

14ymedio, Madrid, August 3, 2026 / Three days after receiving a new blow in the case of its debt with the CRF I Limited investment fund, the Cuban authorities have opted for silence, as they had done after two other unfavorable rulings in London. In November 2024, the National Bank of Cuba (BNC) was ordered to pay 72 million euros by the UK Supreme Court, and in April 2025 the regime lost an appeal that had been blocking it from continuing to challenge the ruling.

Now, the Commercial Court of the British capital has made public its latest ruling on the litigation, ordering the BNC to pay some 24 million dollars more, in damages, along with court costs. The creditor officially reacted to the ruling this Monday, which was signed on Friday and had already been reported by some independent Cuban media outlets and Miami television stations, which also released a letter the fund sent to Miguel Díaz-Canel to discuss the outstanding debt.

CRF has said that it repeatedly attempted to engage in constructive dialogue with the Republic of Cuba and the National Bank of Cuba (BNC) to resolve Cuba’s long-standing commercial debt, under terms fair to creditors, commercially realistic for Cuba, and capable of facilitating the country’s eventual return to international financial markets.

In the letter addressed to the president, CRF’s president, David Charters, proposed holding confidential talks and outlined possible solutions

In the letter addressed to the president, CRF’s president, David Charters, proposed holding confidential talks and outlined possible solutions, such as growth-linked instruments, debt-for-equity swap agreements, and other structures designed to preserve Cuba’s short-term liquidity. There was no response.

“CRF had no realistic alternative but to continue protecting its rights through the English courts,” the fund now states, viewing the current ruling as “a significant development.” Although it insists that its primary preference is not litigation but dialogue, it stresses that this requires “a serious and constructive attitude on the part of Cuba and continue reading

the BNC.”

The fund has praised the Cuban government’s 176 new measures, seeing in them a possibility for understanding. “We have observed the more progressive and pragmatic tone of Cuba’s recent proposals on economic reform, foreign investment, private capital, and the modernization of the financial system. These developments are potentially significant. A credible commitment to recognized commercial creditors would be a practical demonstration that Cuba intends to translate reform announcements into a lasting change in economic approach,” it states.

For now, the regime continues to opt for silence and has said nothing in official media about the new British ruling. Over the years, this case has been handled with great care by the government, which has only spoken out when judicial decisions were relatively favorable to it. The government’s biggest victory was that the British court found it immune as a State and ruled that it was the BNC that had to bear responsibility, but in practice the result is the same, since the entity is state-owned.

The case dates back to the 1980s, when the Cuban regime signed loans with Credit Lyonnais and Istituto Banco Italiano, which it later transferred to ICBC Standard Bank (the British subsidiary of the Chinese bank ICBC). CRF, a fund created in 2009 in the Cayman Islands, acquired that debt, valued at more than 72 million euros, in 2019, and attempted to contact the Cuban side to collect it.

The case dates back to the 1980s, when the Cuban regime signed loans with Credit Lyonnais and Istituto Banco Italiano, which it later transferred to ICBC Standard Bank

The Cuban State argued that CRF acquired the debt invalidly, since the BNC’s then chief operating officer, Raúl Olivera Lozano, signed the transaction without following “proper internal procedures,” which is why he is now in prison. The BNC also claimed that it did not receive the contractually required notice for the reassignment of the debt and, consequently, denied that CRF was the legitimate owner of the debt.

The courts ruled on the matter in April 2023, when the judge determined that the BNC – currently a state commercial bank, but which until 1997 was Cuba’s Central Bank – was responsible for the debt. The ruling stated that CRF – which it considered the legitimate creditor – could claim payment from the entity, though not from the State. Despite the appeals filed, in November 2024 the matter was settled, leaving the ruling final.

The BNC then spoke out, after several days of silence, through a statement insisting that it would continue to defend itself and claimed to have a “firm commitment to dialogue and unwavering respect for debts that have been legitimately incurred.” In April 2025, the last possible appeal was rejected.

Despite CRF’s insistence, Cuba still has not resolved the matter, although under the current circumstances it could negotiate using its assets to end the litigation – a move that would also represent a first step if the regime intends to present itself to the world as a country that honors its obligations.

The difficulties in collecting on this type of claim are widespread. The same London court that ordered the BNC to pay had done the same months earlier with Argentina, in a similar case brought by four British financial institutions – against the funds Palladian Partners LP, HBK Master Fund LP, Virtual Emerald International Limited, and Hirsh Group LLC. In that case, the South American country was ordered by a final ruling to pay more than 1.3 billion dollars, but to this day the creditors have still not seen the debt settled, despite ongoing good-faith talks.

Translated by GH.

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The Prisoner Miami Was Expecting to See

The naturalness and lack of victimhood of someone who has just been released from an unjust prison annoys a society accustomed to entrenched positions.

Artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, in exile in Miami. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Pete Carcia, Miami. August 2, 2026 / Much of Miami greeted the artist and former political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara with hostility. Every word, every garment, and every gesture has been cause for suspicion, controversy, and, in some cases, even outrage.

They demand more combativeness, more vengeance, more enthusiasm when condemning his captors. Every response—or every silence—can be used against him. The naturalness and lack of victimhood in a human being who has just been released from an unjust prison seem to bother a society too accustomed to the rhetoric of the trenches and the martyrdom of others.

Luis Manuel should never have had a beer or drunk Chinese whiskey. Nor should he have allowed himself a single minute of peace and enjoyment in that house where State Security kept him under surveillance, after five years of confinement, solitude, and despair. The moral police of Homestead, Little Havana, and Hialeah would have preferred he go on another hunger strike and lose the weight that, according to his guards, he had to lose. They wanted to see him get off the plane dressed in prison garb, without a watch, emaciated, and sufficiently thin.

A woman cries out in outrage on social media that “this isn’t what people expected.” She demands answers. Thanks to her, many like her—she asserts, distraught and furious—Luis Manuel is now known and has received awards. She wants him to rewrite his story, to complain enough and meticulously describe how much he suffered and how many blows he received; to rub salt in his wounds and scream at the top of his lungs how much he hates his captors. Minutes later, she returns to TikTok Shop, and the anger seems to subside. continue reading

It goes without saying, but it bears repeating: those who benefit most from this whole mess are Cuban State Security and content creators

A YouTuber insinuates the activist works for the apparatus. Another person cites an alleged witness who claims he was never imprisoned in Guanajay. Suspicion spreads faster than the facts, because on social media, accusations are always more profitable than prudence.

It goes without saying, but it bears repeating: the biggest winners in this whole mess are State Security and content creators. The former have meticulously presented the latter with this delicacy, and the latter are devouring it with cannibalistic enthusiasm. At times, it seems as if the former are working for the latter and the latter for the former.

It is not the first time the diaspora has received one of its own not only with hugs and affection, but also with an axe in hand. History repeats itself with disturbing frequency.

Miami is a complex city, to which we brought both our best virtues and also our darkest tendencies. Its streets are walked by people who once participated in acts of repudiation: former informers, former repressors, and representatives of almost everything bad that Castroism has produced. Some have reinvented themselves as spokespeople for an anti-Castroism too rigid and strident to be credible. Their methods betray them: acts of repudiation, propaganda, denigration, and character assassination.

They are the hordes that today shout from this shore as they did before from the other.

It is not the first time that the diaspora has received one of its own not only with hugs and affection, but also with an axe in hand

I’m not referring, of course, to the legitimate questioning of a speech, a behavior, or a stance. No one is exempt from criticism, not even Luis Manuel. I’m referring to the lynching, the suspicion turned into a spectacle, and the demand that a victim eternally play the role that others have written for them.

Many members of these exile rapid response brigades seem to need constant redemption for a less-than-honorable past. The majority don’t know what a prison cell smells like. Perhaps that is why the bravery of others makes them feel so small.

There are many good people in Miami too; they just don’t shout as loudly. They are the ones who have welcomed with affection, respect, and care those who arrive with wounded souls from an island adrift in despair. They are the ones who understand that leaving prison doesn’t obligate anyone to continue living as a prisoner and that freedom also means regaining the right to smile, rest, make mistakes, and drink a beer without having to answer to any moral tribunal.

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Rubio Links Cuban Influence to the Rise of “Radical” Protests in the United States

The U.S. Secretary of State asserts that Havana is part of an organized network to pressure U.S. lawmakers.

EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington, August 2, 2026 / US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Cuba’s influence is, in his opinion, behind the “radical” protests that have taken place in the United States in recent years.

“There is nothing spontaneous about this. It is financed. It is organized. And Cuba is part of that network and, in some cases, a crucial part of that network,” he explained during an interview with Fox News.

Rubio stated that “it is a network that they will use as a weapon against us” and that its members “openly discuss how they will use that network to pressure US lawmakers.”

Rubio affirmed that Cuba, “in matters of espionage and influence operations, is a true superpower”

The United States’ chief of diplomacy also provided details about the alleged “Cuban influence on the disturbances we saw in 2020, as well as the increase in radical activity.”

Rubio believes that “the same people who were seen in the streets in 2020 then turned the tables and became pro-Hamas protesters.”

“They turned it around again, and within 48 hours of Maduro’s arrest, they already had pre-printed signs outside the courthouse demanding his release. And then they were there against ICE, attacking ICE agents,” he added, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs continue reading

Enforcement.

“If we analyze the history of espionage in the United States, Cuba is the only country that has managed to infiltrate and maintain spies in our system consistently, even without paying them.”

Rubio, born in Miami and the son of two Cuban immigrants, explained that Cuba, “in terms of espionage and influence operations, is a true superpower.”

“If we analyze the history of espionage in the United States, Cuba is the only country that has managed to infiltrate and maintain spies in our system consistently, even without paying them,” he asserted.

This is not the first time Rubio has pointed to the Cuban government as responsible for some agitation in the United States.

Last July 16, the Secretary of State indicated that the regime on the Island “contributed to forging the extreme left” in the United States and on the continent, during the inaugural speech of the Ministerial Meeting on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, held in Washington.

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Three Minutes For My Mother’s Birthday

The lack of electricity and internet connection turns a family call between Berlin and Villa Clara into an odyssey marked by distance and exile.

That night I understood that exile doesn’t always hurt because of the distance. Sometimes it hurts because of the simplest things. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yankiel Gutiérrez Faife, Berlin, August 2, 2026 / At five in the afternoon I finished my workday in Berlin. It had been a long day, but since I left home in the morning my body was in Germany and my mind in Cuba. That day was my mother’s birthday and I was only thinking about one thing: managing to speak with her before her birthday celebrations on the island ended.

During my workday, I checked the clock several times. Not because I wanted it to end, but because I was calculating the time difference. I knew it wouldn’t be just any call. In Cuba, a phone call depends on too many things: electricity, phones with batteries, available coverage and internet connection, and someone able to answer.

When I got home, I didn’t even change my clothes. The first thing I did was buy international calling minutes. I couldn’t call by WhatsApp, and the messages I sent couldn’t be delivered. Without electricity, there is no internet either, and when the power outages last almost all day, a video call is a virtually impossible luxury. I wanted to hear my mother’s voice, even if it was just for a few minutes, to know how she was and wish her a happy birthday in my own voice.

I dialed her home phone, it was off, and I kept waiting until 11:30 at night in Berlin, which was 5:30 in the afternoon in Cuba. I tried calling again, but no one answered. I called again. Nothing.

In Cuba, a phone call depends on too many things

It didn’t surprise me. I imagined the phones lying uncharged on a table, waiting for that single hour of electricity they often get during the day. In Cuba, nobody takes it for granted that a phone will be on anymore.

Then I dialed Yolanda’s number, the neighbor who, luckily, still has a phone with minutes, although it also has a battery.

She has become, without any intention, the bridge between my family and me when power outages leave my parents’ house without communication. I only have a few minutes, between three and five, since it’s for emergencies.

–Hello, Yolanda. How are you?

–Hey my boy! It’s so good to hear from you. How are you?

I explained that I was calling to congratulate my mother.

–Could I speak with her for three minutes?

–Sure, wait a moment. I’ll call her now.

I hung up and called back five minutes later.

While I waited, I thought about everything that continue reading

had happened that day.

In any other country, traveling just over 250 kilometers would be a journey of a few hours. In Cuba, it can mean waiting for months.

My sister had traveled from Havana to celebrate my birthday. I hadn’t been able to visit my parents for six months. Not because I didn’t want to or because I was busy. Simply because there was no fuel, no way to get there.

In any other country, traveling just over 250 kilometers would be a journey of a few hours. In Cuba, it can mean waiting for months.

In the end, my sister, an aunt, and several cousins pooled their money to rent a car. Only then were they able to get to Villa Clara. It struck me that, living on the same island, my sister needed to plan a trip as if she were going to another country.

I was more than eight thousand kilometers away. She was just over two hundred and fifty. And yet, we both had almost the same difficulties in reaching our mother.

Suddenly I heard a voice on the other end of the line.

–Hello, Pipo?

It was my mother.

She tried to say something, but the words got trapped in her tears.

I felt a lump in my throat.

–Mom, congratulations. I wish you good health and many more years of life. I hope we can celebrate this day together very soon.

She didn’t respond for a few seconds.

I only heard her crying.

She tried to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat as she cried.

Then my father took the phone and they tried to hide it from me and divert attention from my mother’s crying, but I know her. My father and I spoke for barely a minute. He asked me how I was and how work was going. Then my mother came back.

I trepeated that I was fine, that she shouldn’t worry about me, and that I loved her very much.

I’m sure she tried to hold back her tears so I wouldn’t worry. She didn’t tell me. Nor did she need to. I’m her son, and I know my mother’s silence. I know when she’s trying to appear strong even though she’s falling apart inside. As I listened to her, I felt a lump in my throat and had to make an effort to keep my own voice from breaking.

Then the call was cut off.

At least I was able to congratulate her. It wasn’t a video call, and I couldn’t see her smile. I couldn’t sing “Happy Birthday” to her. I couldn’t hug her. I only got to give her three minutes.

The phone had run out of battery.

There was no time to say goodbye.

I stared at my phone screen for a few seconds, wondering if the call might come back, but it didn’t. I thought about the image that surely remained on the other end: my mother holding the phone, which was off, tears in her eyes, after hearing her son’s voice for just a few minutes.

At least I was able to congratulate her. It wasn’t a video call, and I couldn’t see her smile. I couldn’t sing “Happy Birthday” to her. I couldn’t hug her. I only got to give her three minutes.

That night I understood that exile doesn’t always hurt because of the distance. Sometimes it hurts because of the simplest things. Because you can’t call when you want to. Because you depend on the battery of a borrowed phone. Because you have to buy expensive international minutes since the internet disappears every time the power goes out.

While in Berlin the city was still lit up and the subway continued to function normally, in Cuba my family waited for the next moment when the electricity would return so they could charge a phone again.

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A Pair of Glasses and Ten Tablets of Pills Unleash Chaos in a Church in Guanabacoa

The parish suspended the distribution after ‘line jumpers’, repeat customers, and neighbors without prescriptions appeared.

According to several attendees, the parish was distributing glasses with varying magnifications, some dipyrone tablets, and medications that residents identified as antibiotics. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, August 2, 2026 / “They say they’re giving away eyeglasses at the church.” The news spread through Guanabacoa this week with the speed that attends rumors about any scarce product in Cuba. In no time, a line of residents formed under the sun in front of the parish of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, located next to the amphitheater in the Havana municipality.

The offer was hard to ignore in a country where buying prescription glasses or obtaining antibiotics can require months of searching and an amount of money unattainable for many retirees. According to several attendees, the parish was distributing glasses with varying prescriptions, some dipyrone tablets, and medications that locals identified as antibiotics.

No one could pinpoint the origin of the donation. In line, some people claimed it was part of “aid from the United States,” while others said they had heard the goods had arrived through a religious organization.

“This is from the millions the Americans sent,” commented a woman while waiting. Another resident added, “I don’t know if it’s 10 or 100 million, but they say it came from there.” The claim was repeated from mouth to mouth without anyone being able to prove it. continue reading

“This is from the millions that the Americans sent,” commented a woman while she waited. / 14ymedio

The scene revealed, above all, the depth of the need. Elderly people, women with children, and people who had come from other parts of the municipality were gathered in front of the church. Some shielded themselves from the sun with umbrellas; others sat on the grass or stood waiting by the fence.

Initially, as this newspaper observed at the site, the process proceeded fairly normally. Simply requesting the desired prescription was sufficient. No eye exam was required, nor was a recent prescription necessary.

“They gave you whichever one you wanted,” explained one of the attendees, who left wearing black-framed glasses. The lenses appeared to be the pre-assembled reading glasses sold with standard magnification, but the residents were talking about them as if they could solve any vision problem.

“They gave you whichever one you wanted,” explained one of the attendees, who left wearing black-framed glasses. / 14ymedio

Others argued about who should have priority. “The elderly first,” some demanded. There were also complaints that there weren’t enough seats for people with mobility difficulties and that those who had been waiting the longest were afraid of losing their place.

The line ended up turning into a dispute. Attendees reported the presence of ‘line standers’ holding places, of people trying to get in twice, and others cutting in front of those who had been waiting for hours. The atmosphere “got heated,” according to several residents.

The priest then decided to halt the give-away. The suspension left dozens of people in front of the church, some annoyed and others convinced that the distribution would resume two days later. The version that circulates in the neighborhood was that the products would be distributed again on Friday.

Others remained in the surroundings for a while, observing the entrance and asking questions of those who were leaving the building. / 14ymedio

However, on Friday the parish priest announced that the distribution would not continue. Even so, several people arrived early at the church to see if there was any chance of receiving anything. “I came just in case,” said a woman in front of the gate. “Yesterday they told me they were still distributing today.” Others lingered nearby, watching the entrance and asking those leaving the building.

Among the residents, it was said that the priest was considering replacing the line with a house-to-house distribution, especially among the elderly, the sick, and people with mobility problems.

The parish, overwhelmed by demand far exceeding its capacity, ended up closing the distribution. The line remained as a portrait of a country where a small donation, even without a confirmed origin or sufficient organization, can immediately become a massive event.

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Havana Chronicles: The Days of the Fever

A virus, an empty medicine cabinet, and the haunting image of those who grow old alone reveal the depth of Cuba’s health and demographic crisis.

There is no way to stop the virus in a city filled with mountains of garbage and without a vector control campaign to reduce the mosquito population. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, Yoani Sánchez, August 1, 2026 / Day One. I wake up with a tingling in my right shoulder. “I must have slept in the wrong position,” I tell myself. By ten in the morning, the discomfort has spread to my other shoulder and upper back. I keep hoping it’s just some muscle spasms, the result of all the acrobatics I have to do in bed during a night with a blackout and mosquitoes. But by the afternoon, it’s clear I have something more. I’ve caught one of those many viruses circulating in Havana, where the epidemiological situation worsens with each passing hour.

I start taking stock of the medications and medical supplies I have on hand. There aren’t many because the illness has hit my family and my neighbors hard in recent months, so a good part of the medicine cabinet is empty. There are two dipyrone tablets left, no thermometer, and the oral rehydration salts are gone. “It can’t be that bad,” I fool myself a little, although when night falls I know this isn’t the result of curling up in bed trying to find some air, nor a passing discomfort. The early morning will confirm it in the worst way.

The headaches are so intense I can’t sleep. They’re throbbing and seem to come from everywhere. Behind my eyes, in my forehead, on my cheek, and near my ears. Just when they reach a crescendo and I think I’ll get a few seconds of relief, they start up somewhere else. Sitting down is torture because then the throbbing becomes even more frequent. I’m irritated by sounds, lights, and the hum of the nearby Ministry of Transport power plant. When I try to get up, I realize I can’t speak or swallow. My entire neck, throat, and larynx are swollen and painful.

I resort to a Chinese ointment I found at the last minute. I rub it in until it’s all gone. Then the fever hits. I take a second dose of dipyrone and start crying for a thermometer. But my head hurts more as the tears flow, so I try to compose myself. What is this? Where did I catch it? Trying to answer these questions is as futile as it is agonizing. The hospitals lack the reagents to determine the name of what’s afflicting me, but I suspect it’s a virus I caught through a mosquito bite. continue reading

The hospitals lack the reagents to determine what the name of what’s wrong with me, but I suspect it’s a virus I contracted through a mosquito bite.

All the precautions I took were in vain. Finally, the insect carrying this infectious agent reached me. So many citronella incense sticks burned at night, so much repellent spray used before leaving the house, so many long-sleeved shirts and pants to avoid bites, and finally the virus entered my body. There’s no way to prevent it in a city overflowing with mountains of garbage, mired in an epidemiological crisis, and without an anti-vector campaign to reduce the mosquito population.

The second day is the worst. The fever sends chills through my entire body; I can’t get out of bed, but lying down is painful. Images race through my mind, chaotic and senseless. The rigidity spreads throughout the rest of my body. My family asks if it’s time to take me to the hospital. “To the hospital?” I reply, alarmed. There’s no electricity; in this condition, I’ll never be able to go down 14 flights of stairs, and just imagining that when I get back the power will still be out and the elevator won’t work makes my temples throb. Besides, the emergency rooms are overflowing with people like me: feverish, weak, and desperate. They can’t do much for the wave of patients arriving. They don’t have the capacity to run tests to determine what’s wrong with us, they don’t even have syringes to give injections, and the disputes with the desperate patients make the ER feel unsafe.

I decide to stay home. The following night is brutal. My fever is rising, but I’ve finally got a thermometer and can measure it; the chills are getting more intense, and new, very unpleasant symptoms are appearing, like diarrhea. I have no appetite at all, but I force myself to drink as much water as I can, even though it hurts terribly to swallow and the nausea isn’t helping me stay hydrated. In the midst of the darkness and the heat of the blackout, which I no longer feel thanks to the 39 degrees Celsius my body has reached, I start thinking about other patients in parallel situations, but under different circumstances.

Emergency rooms are overflowing with people like me: feverish, weak, and desperate. They can’t do much for this wave of patients arriving.

I imagine Matilde or Pancho, elderly people who live alone because their children have emigrated. They’ve been caught off guard by the same virus as me, but they have no shoulder to lean on and no way to buy, on the black market, the thermometer and dipyrone they need. In the delirium of fever, I can almost see them. In their beds, drenched in sweat, trembling, with the kitchen and dishes unwashed, with no one nearby to hear their faint voices pleading for help, with the power outage that has lasted for more than twenty hours, spoiling what little they had in the refrigerator and leaving them without water in the pipes.

Pancho and Matilde will keep me company for part of the time. I imagine them in their beds, with flies buzzing around and the stench growing. I manage to get a little chicken broth down my throat. It’s the last bit that survived the complete thawing after long hours without electricity. It soothes me, but I can barely swallow, so I only take a couple of spoonfuls. I go back to bed, where I’ll spend the next twelve hours in a continuous stupor, accompanied by the stories of those other patients who are going through the same thing, but with even more difficulty.

Where did I get infected? I’m obsessing again. Does it matter? I try to calm my mind. But there’s nothing more unproductive than trying to push away an obsessive thought. I remember a few days ago I was in a part of Central Park where I was attacked by mosquitoes. There were so many of them in such a short time that I can’t forget that moment. Several benches were occupied by homeless people. Are they sick too? How do you survive something so debilitating while living on the streets? People walk by and don’t notice that you’re shivering, that you’re moaning, that you’re sick.

The third night arrives. I convince myself that I’ll feel better when I wake up, that the worst is over. The fever subsides, the sore throat lessens, but sleep remains a struggle, plagued by aches and pains all over, the heat from the blackout, that affects me again, and the obsessive images that come my mind. I dream I’m beside the bed of an old woman with filthy sheets, pleading for help. There’s no one around.

A helping hand is needed to support the convalescent, someone to assist them to the bathroom, and that is very difficult to pay for from abroad.

Then I’m in an armchair in a dilapidated mansion where an elderly man tries to stand up and ends up falling to the floor because his legs won’t support him. Nor does anyone come to help. The number of elderly people living alone on this island has been growing due to the mass exodus. In times of health crisis, a remittance or a food package can hardly help; what is needed is a hand that comes to rest on the convalescent, someone to help with going to the bathroom, and that’s very difficult to pay for from abroad.

I wake up and try to get up, but the stiffness in my hips, knees, and ankles won’t let me. I diagnose myself with chikungunya. By then, I imagine Matilde and Pancho must be very ill. One must be on her way to the hospital after her neighbors noticed her absence; the other is perhaps still lying on the living room floor. Because, although the virus isn’t particularly lethal, going through it alone, in a country where even running water isn’t guaranteed and hospitals are lacking supplies and overwhelmed with patients, the chances of not surviving increase. The images of the shivering old woman in the room and the man collapsed on the floor no longer return.

I’m having my first coffee in many days, but it tastes bad. I’ll have to keep fighting this.

The “Havana Chronicles” series can be read here.

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Cuba’s Supreme Court Upholds the Six-Year Prison Sentence of José Gabriel Barrenechea for Protesting

The decision also upholds the convictions of three other defendants for participating in a demonstration in Villa Clara in 2024.

Independent journalist and political prisoner José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez / OCDH

14ymedio, Madrid, July 31, 2026 / Cuba’s Supreme Court upheld the six-year prison sentence against writer and independent journalist José Gabriel Barrenechea Chávez, winner of the Patmos Prize and contributor to 14ymedio. The independent organization Justicia 11J confirmed the news after obtaining the ruling, dated July 28, which upholds the decision issued by the Villa Clara Provincial Court on January 15 and establishes that no further appeals are possible.

The same document also confirms the eight-year prison sentences for Yandri Torres Quintana; seven years for Rafael Javier Camacho Herrera; and five years for Rodel Bárbaro Rodríguez Espinosa. All were convicted of the same crime of public disorder after participating in a peaceful protest against power outages in November 2024 in the municipality of Encrucijada, Villa Clara.

The defense had filed an appeal and challenged the assessment of the evidence. In the cases of Barrenechea, Torres Quintana, and Rodríguez Espinosa, the lawyers argued that the alleged conduct was protected by the right to complain and freedom of expression. The Supreme Court rejected all arguments and upheld the convictions. continue reading

The ruling also upholds the eight-year prison sentences for Yandri Torres Quintana; the seven-year sentence for Rafael Javier Camacho Herrera; and the five-year sentence for Rodel Bárbaro Rodríguez Espinosa.

The provincial court’s ruling stated that the defendants acted with “the intention of destabilizing public order and creating insecurity among the population,” and that these actions justified the lengthy prison sentences ultimately imposed. The ruling also included considerations regarding the defendants’ conduct and personal relationships. In Barrenechea’s case, it maintained that he “associated with people of questionable morals and social conduct” and that he “had no recognized employment relationship,” despite the fact that the writer and journalist practiced his profession independently.

The trial, held on September 24, 2025 , was marked – according to complaints from family members and independent organizations – by numerous irregularities that are often repeated in trials against government critics: vague accusations, rejection of exculpatory evidence, and a clearly discouraging environment for defense witnesses.

Barrenechea, a novelist, essayist, and contributor to 14ymedio, has for years been a highly critical voice in the debate surrounding authoritarianism, economic stagnation, and the moral crisis of the Cuban political system. His liberal thinking, his defense of pluralism, and his constant analyses of civil society have made him a frequent target of interrogations, police summonses, and pressure, as this newspaper has reported since at least 2016.

The writer entered prison – initially on provisional detention – in November 2024, at La Pendiente prison in Santa Clara. There he has endured the usual precarious conditions of Cuban prisons, including restrictions on visits, obstacles to receiving medicine and food, and isolation that has taken a toll on his health.

The journalist suffered a particularly painful event during his stay at the La Pendiente penitentiary: the loss of his mother, without being allowed to say goodbye to her.

In addition, the journalist suffered a particularly painful event during his time at La Pendiente prison: the loss of his mother —who died of cancer in May 2025 —without being allowed to say goodbye. The Cuban Observatory for Human Rights, based in Madrid, described the prison authorities’ decision as part of a pattern of “systematic psychological pressure” aimed at breaking the accused and sending a warning message to other intellectuals and activists. The organization had repeatedly called for Barrenechea and his co-defendants to be acquitted: “It is a political case from beginning to end.”

Johanna Cilano, Amnesty International’s researcher for Cuba, had expressed a similar sentiment, saying about this case: “Protest is a right, no one should be imprisoned simply for exercising their human rights.”

On Friday, Justice 11J denounced that in Cuba, “the expression of citizen discontent continues to result in sentences of years in prison.” The organization demanded the release of those convicted and emphasized: “The right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression protect demonstrations and protests as forms of public participation. Restrictions on these rights must be legal, necessary, and proportionate, and cannot be used to discourage their exercise, as has occurred in this case.”
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