This Wednesday, the trace of one of the “subversive” posters was still visible, despite the persistent black paint.
Mural by Sebastián E. in José Raúl Capablanca Park, in the Playa municipality of Havana. “What side of the blade are you on?” / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, June 11, 2026 / The Chilean “urban artist”Sebastián E., known professionally as Rata Virus, has attracted significant media attention, including from some international outlets, for the mural he created in José Raúl Capablanca Park in Havana’s Playa municipality. Covering a large wall with a black background, the mural depicts a male figure, with only half of his face and his chest visible, wielding a machete, beneath the caption: “Which side of the edge are you on?”
As the artist himself explained to EFE, he traveled to Cuba following a promise to the late Uruguayan president José Mujica, and with his work he seeks to reflect how “the people always lose” in scenarios of political confrontation. “Not everything can be seen in black and white,” he told the Spanish news agency, somewhat cryptically.
This Wednesday, the “down with the dictatorship” slogan was still visible, despite the persistent black paint. / 14ymedio
“Generally, the Cuban people are on the edge of the machete, they’re in the middle, and the powerful are on the handle of the machete, they’re the ones who control the blade.” He added: “The work is interesting because it makes you reflect on the fact that whichever side you choose will always end up cutting you.”
What wasn’t mentioned in those media interviews is the subversive slogans written on top of the mural, which were conveniently covered up by the authorities. This Wednesday, still visible in the outline of one of them was the “down” of “down with the dictatorship,” despite the persistent black paint.
Salvador E. during his interview with the EFE news agency in Havana. / EFE/Screenshot
“In Cuba, the fracture is mainly seen in a senstion of political tension that translates into fear, into uncertainty,” Sebastián E. explained in his conversation with EFE, in front of a Basque flag and Nietzsche’s words in German: “Gott ist tot” (“God is dead”).
In the same space, he added, unknowingly putting the finishing touch on the hidden message: “People don’t know what’s going to happen, especially when you add a little something extra that is censorship.”
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According to Prisoners Defenders, 28 new cases were recorded in May.
“Cuba is experiencing the biggest wave of repression in recent decades,” PD reported. / 14ymedio
EP (via 14ymedio), Madrid, June 11, 2026 / The number of political prisoners in Cuba reached a new record of 1,281 in May, according to the count by the organization Prisoners Defenders, which warns that this figure is only “the tip of the iceberg of the misfortune” in which the Island and its inhabitants are immersed and highlights the wave of repression being carried out by the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel.
According to this organization, during the month of May, 28 new cases of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience were recorded, many of them related to protests over blackouts, lack of water, food shortages and the extreme deterioration of living conditions on the island.
“Cuba reached a new record in May, which is only the tip of the iceberg of the misfortune that Cubans are experiencing,” denounced the president of Prisoners Defenders, Javier Larrondo, warning that “the international community cannot continue to look the other way.”
Javier Larrondo, warning that “the international community cannot continue to look the other way”
“While the country has been sinking into an unprecedented crisis since 2021, marked by blackouts, hunger, lack of water and the collapse of all basic services, the regime’s response has been to imprison, persecute and sow terror,” he lamented, stressing that “state terrorism has become the only policy practiced” by the Díaz-Canel regime “to maintain power.”
According to Larrondo, “among the new cases are women activists, citizens who denounced the situation on social media, and people arrested after peaceful protests.” The NGO’s latest report also includes “minors imprisoned in adult prisons and victims of torture, ill-treatment, and denial of medical care.” continue reading
In this regard, Prisoners Defenders has denounced the death in custody of Ernesto Brieva Sempé, who was arrested in connection with the protests of July 11, 2021, and died on May 13 after years of imprisonment, chronic kidney disease, malnutrition, and a lack of adequate medical care. His death brings the number of political prisoners who have died in the custody or under the direct responsibility of the regime since 2023 to six.
The organization’s president stressed that “these are not isolated cases; they are the result of a systematic policy of neglect, punishment, and dehumanization.”
Furthermore, he drew attention to the fact that there are 449 seriously ill political prisoners and another 52 with severe mental health disorders who are not receiving medical attention in Cuban prisons. “Every day they remain imprisoned increases the risk of further deaths,” he warned.
Furthermore, Prisoners Defenders has questioned the “alleged pardon of 2,010 prisoners” announced by the regime on May 25, after analyzing the list and finding that only one political prisoner has been released, emphasizing that it was nothing more than “another propaganda operation.” The other political prisoner included in the pardon remains incarcerated.
“Cuba is experiencing the biggest wave of repression in recent decades, and thousands of families continue to pay the price for demanding a dignified life, freedom, and fundamental rights,” Larrondo emphasized.
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The regime expands its solar capacity with support from sympathetic organisations on the continent, which are also activating colloquia and mobilisation actions
Solar panels sent by European organisations on the roof of the ELAM. / Cubadebate
14ymedio, Madrid, 11 June 2026 / From this Wednesday, half the energy demand of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) can be met by the new photovoltaic grid project installed at this university study centre for foreign students. The project was promoted by MediCuba Europa, headquartered in Switzerland, which has already carried out several schemes at the ELAM and other institutions in Cuba.
According to the official press, the panels have a total installed capacity of 208 kWp, and the polyclinic and a study courtyard are protected from power cuts by batteries that have been installed, “contributed by international solidarity to support this beautiful Cuban internationalist project”.
This project forms part of the programme known as Energy for Life, designed to provide electrical supply to health institutions on the Island and funded by donations made to a MediCuba Europa account at a Swiss bank. The official Cuban press states that the organisation has the participation of NGOs from 13 European states “that practise their solidarity with Cuba in the field of health”, and asserts that they are in “different regions”, mixing countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Austria with autonomous regions such as the Canary Islands.
Brussels hosted a group of activists who called for an “end to the blockade”. / Cubadebate
Furthermore, the press mentions a territory that does not exist as such – Euskal Herria (Basque people or the people who speak Basque), a political-cultural entity that belongs to the imagination of Basque expansionist movements – including the terrorist organisation ETA and its milieu – whose goal is to bring continue reading
together in a single nation the inhabitants of the Basque Country, Navarra, and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (France).
The MediCuba Europa website states that it is made up of some 18 organisations, eleven of them full members and seven as associates. In the first group are mediCuba-Switzerland, mediCuba-France, and mediCuba-Finland, together with the Spanish Sodepaz, the Italian Associazione Nazionale di Amicizia Italia-Cuba, the German Humanitäre Cuba Hilfe e.V., the Irish Cuba Support Group, the Swedish Svensk-Kubanska Föreningen, the Norwegian Cubaforeningen Norge, the Austrian Österreichisch-Kubanische Gesellschaft, and the Luxembourg Solidarité Luxembourg Cuba.
In the second group: Dansk-Cubansk Forening (Denmark), Cuba Solidarity Campaign UK (United Kingdom), CEESE-group Netherlands (the Netherlands), and the Spanish organisations Euskadi Cuba, Asociación Valenciana de Amistad con Cuba Jose Marti, Asociación Solidaridad y Cooperación Ernesto Guevara de Madrid, and the Asociación de Amistad Canario Cubana Antonio Pérez Monzón.
The ELAM project is broken down on the website into two stages: a large solar plant to be built with two companies – one German, one Swiss – of 60 kW, which has been producing since June 2015. The second stage, the current one, has been underway for a year and involves four companies from the same countries.
But the projects within the solar plan are far more numerous and have also made it possible to install capacity at the Finlay Vaccine Institute, the Faustino Pérez Provincial Hospital in Matanzas, the Cardiocentre and the William Soler polyclinic, the Borras Marfan paediatric hospital, and the outpatient maternity clinic in Matanzas. In addition, the website notes that more energy projects are forthcoming.
The organisation has also recently been involved in projects to secure locally produced sodium heparin for patients in Cuba, the purchase of paediatric antitumoural drugs, and pacemakers for the Cuban health system.
The organisation has also recently been involved in projects to secure locally produced sodium heparin for patients in Cuba, the purchase of paediatric antitumoural drugs, and pacemakers for the Cuban health system.
The activity of European associations close to the Cuban regime is currently buzzing. That same Cubadebate publishes this Thursday the mobilisation that took place at the Luxembourg Square, in front of the European Parliament, to support the start of activities of a solidarity convoy with Cuba that had arrived from Italy and will travel through several cities under the slogans “Let Cuba Breathe” and “Europe Wakes Up”.
In the rain and carrying placards, activists, Belgian and European parliamentarians, Cubans resident in the country, and others joined an event that the official press describes, cloyingly, as a demonstration of “the fact that distance does not cool legitimate commitments”. This was happening outside, while inside a European Parliament – which has already voted on numerous occasions for resolutions calling for the release of political prisoners or sanctions against the regime – an event was taking place organised by the left-wing parliamentary group, entitled Toward a New Internationalism in an Age of War, at which the role of the United States in conflicts such as those in Ukraine or Palestine, but also Sudan and Cuba, was discussed.
It is precisely these two countries that will be the destination of a €350,000 grant from the Basque Government, made up for the most part of right-wing Basque nationalists and socialists. The direct subsidy to the United Nations Development Programme in Cuba amounts to €250,000 and will support the project Havana’s Advance Towards Its Future: Comprehensive Implementation and Monitoring of the Havana Provincial Development Strategy. According to the report, this project aims to promote comprehensive development – energy, waste, and housing – on the Island, which faces “significant challenges”.
Translated by GH
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In Santos Suarez, residents took over a street and set fire to the many open-air rubbish piles and an Etecsa installation
Luyano residents took to the streets with their cooking pots, exhausted by the many hours without services. / Screen capture / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 11 June 2026 / The banging of pots and pans in broad daylight is becoming a regular occurrence. It happened again this Wednesday in the Havana neighbourhood of Luyano, in full view of two police patrols that this time limited themselves to watching as residents beat their cookware to the chant of “water and power”.
Those who leaned out onto their balconies to see what was happening were invited to join in. “It’s not up there, it’s down here, in the street,” one resident shouted at the onlookers still holding back from the protest. Others beat their pans more discreetly from their balconies. By that point they had been without power for some 27 hours – which also meant no water.
The protest, which 14ymedio was able to witness, was not the only one to take place this Wednesday in the capital – or elsewhere in Cuba. The months the population has spent enduring blackouts of sometimes more than 48 hours straight are taking an even greater toll with the summer heat.
Watch video here “Water and Power”, the desperate shout of the women of Luyanó, exhausted by the constant outages.
In Santos Suarez, the night was less peaceful. The protest began after 8 pm and the intensity kept building until, according to an eyewitness account on social media, the crowd took over Calle General Serrano from one end to the other, setting fire to every one of the many rubbish piles until the situation spiralled out of control.
“They didn’t restore the electricity. They almost burned down the Las Estrellitas de Serrano children’s centre. The fire brigade had to come to stop it spreading further. Further along Calle General Serrano they couldn’t control the fire and it burned the Etecsa server – those cabinets on certain street corners – leaving more than half the neighbourhood without communications,” an eyewitness recounted. To cap it all, the state monopoly has said it has no spare parts to repair it and the blackout will not be short-lived.
“At one of the corners where they lit the rubbish piles, because it was night-time, the wind carried the smoke into the homes and a young girl ended up at the Raul Gomez polyclinic because she is asthmatic – and that’s without counting all the other residents breathing in those chemicals,” the resident lamented. In her post she reproaches the United States for the energy blockade and the regime for demanding continue reading
resistance “with no intention of proposing any positive change. And caught between these two governments, the Cuban people are strangling themselves with that rope”.
The night was a long one again. The forecast deficit was 2,040 megawatts: at peak hours the electricity system generates only 990 MW while demand stands at at least 3,000. The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant – the country’s main one – had been expected to come back online this Wednesday after three intensive days of repairs.
Firefighters attending one of the blazes in Santos Suarez. / Impactosdesde el Corazón
In the end, the situation has dragged on a little longer and, on Wednesday afternoon, workers were awaiting the start of the hydraulic test, which will determine when the restart can begin, following verification of all the weld seams and areas of concern in the boiler.
Engineer Roman Perez Castaneda, the plant’s director general, told the official press that the inspection would take around six hours – a “decisive moment to assess the work and correct any weak points”. If the results are favourable, the boiler is closed and fired up, after which a further six hours are needed to reach operating parameters, produce usable steam and begin turning the turbine – the steps required before reconnecting to the national electricity grid.
“We acknowledge it is a race against time, but we have confidence in the work that has been carried out,” said Perez Castaneda. The worst news is that at this stage the 200 MW the Guiteras plant can contribute barely matters when the shortfall is ten times that.
Translated by GH
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The cases of Eddy Ceballos, Jonais Antony Arenas, and the members of El4tico expose the opacity of the police and the use of fear against a rebellious generation.
The three episodes, each with its own distinct focus, depict the detention of citizens without clear information and without reliable institutional channels for their families. / 14ymedio
“Eddy Ceballos sends his greetings to everyone; he knows he is not alone,” wrote his mother, Marieta Pérez, after finally seeing him this Tuesday, following days of uncertainty. The message, brief and marked by the usual difficulties—power outages, poor internet connection, and the inability to record a video—confirms that the creator of the comedy channel Despingovery Channel remains under the control of the authorities.
Ceballos’s case is similar to that of Jonais Antony Arenas Fernández, a 23-year-old from Havana who was searched for by his family in hospitals and police stations while, according to Alas Tensas, based on reports circulating on social media , he was detained. It is also similar to that of Kamil Zayas Pérez, a member of the audiovisual project El4tico, who has been imprisoned for four months in Holguín. On Tuesday, the young man sent a letter from prison denouncing that Cuba lives under a regime that has suspended “the right to be happy” and “the full enjoyment of freedom.”
The three episodes, with distinct profiles, portray the detention of citizens without clear information, without reliable institutional channels for families, and with an opacity that turns any arrest or imprisonment into an area of uncertainty and anguish.
Ceballos’ mother bids farewell “from Despingolandia and Apagonia,” a reference to the humorous and critical universe created by her son.
Ceballos was arrested on June 1st after posting a video on his channel in which he toured an abandoned military installation. In the video , presented in his usual satirical style, as if it were a Discovery Channel documentary, he showed remnants of military infrastructure, radar systems, bunkers, and military scrap, without revealing the exact location. He was arrested shortly afterward near his home.
The version circulating among family members and activists points to an accusation of alleged “invasion of military property.” Independent legal organizations have warned that this offense is not recognized as a crime under Cuban criminal law, reinforcing the claim that the arrest was arbitrary. To date, the authorities have not offered continue reading
a transparent public explanation regarding the charges, the legal process, or the measure imposed on Ceballos.
His mother, who in recent days had promised to provide details in a video, explained that she hadn’t been able to do so due to electrical and internet connection problems. “Everyone here knows what’s happening with the power and the connection,” she wrote. Even so, she confirmed that she was able to see him and that he sent greetings to those who have been following the case. “And I, his mother, too,” she added, before signing off “from Despingolandia and Apagonia,” a reference to the humorous and critical universe created by her son.
The complaint described what happened as “a total lack of respect,” due to the family members’ ordeal going from place to place while the authorities denied or confused information about their whereabouts.
The case of Jonais Antony Arenas Fernández took another path, but ultimately pointed to the same problem. The young man, a resident of Santos Suárez and a cafeteria worker, had been reported missing since Friday. According to his mother’s initial testimony, he was detained near the Capri Hotel in Havana while looking for merchandise. The alleged reason was an unpaid fine.
The family received a call from Jonais at 12:20 a.m. from a police station. In that call, the young man said he had to pay 4,000 pesos for the fine. However, when his family went to look for him, they were told he had never been detained there. This contradiction turned the arrest into a de facto disappearance for the family, who began visiting hospitals and police stations without receiving a clear answer.
Journalist Niover Licea reported on his Facebook page that Jonais had indeed been detained and was recently released. The report described the situation as “a complete lack of respect,” citing the family’s ordeal of being sent from one place to another while authorities denied or provided confusing information about his whereabouts.
In the text, Zayas accuses the regime of having caused “a setback of 67 years for Cuba”
Kamil Zayas Pérez, however, remains imprisoned. A member of El4tico an independent audiovisual project based in Holguín, he was arrested on February 6 along with Ernesto Ricardo Medina in an operation that included raids and the seizure of equipment. Since then, his case has become another symbol of the offensive against young people who use social media to document the country’s crisis and challenge the government.
Four months after his imprisonment, Zayas released a declaration written from prison. In it, he accuses the regime of having set Cuba back 67 years and of perpetuating its hold on power “over a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.” The statement, released by people close to the activist, is accompanied by a logo* that, they explained, the young man had been thinking about before his incarceration.
“We, the youth, feel we are part of the present and will bear the consequences and assume the responsibilities of the time that belongs to us,” Zayas wrote. “If the right to be happy, the full enjoyment of freedom, the desire to gather, and the will to act and speak are suspended, we are becoming slaves,” he added.
The El4tico member concludes with a direct appeal to dignity and popular sovereignty: “Because a revolution is not only a right, but also a duty of citizens if circumstances require it.”
*
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The crisis has produced a devastating domino effect on the surrounding communities
Workers in Varadero waiting for transport to Cárdenas / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Pablo Padilla Cruz, Varadero, 9 June 2026 / Though the blue of its waters grows more intense with the start of June, and its white fine sand shimmers under the relentless tropical sun, walking through the streets of Varadero’s tourist enclave today is an ode to nostalgia. What was once the goose that laid the golden egg of the Cuban economy now survives as a desert of broken promises for the handful of visitors who still arrive, for the marginalised residents, and for workers mired in absolute precariousness.
The debacle is not new, but it has reached a point of no return. A self-employed worker confirms as much as she weaves her electric mototaxi around the potholes along the peninsula’s scorching asphalt. “Things have been getting worse for about ten years now,” she says, eyes fixed on the road. “First came the decline in the quality of tourists. I know that well, because I was a waitress at the Princesa del Mar hotel at Paradisus. In those golden years we had lots of Canadian guests, but Europeans too – Germans, French, Italians, and of course Spaniards. I learned that you find kind and generous tourists everywhere, but some markets are better than others when it comes to what workers take home.”
The woman explains that a change of commercial strategy by the Ministry of Tourism marked the beginning of the end. “Then the Russians, Mexicans, and Argentinians arrived en masse, and with them the purchasing power of workers in the sector dropped sharply, because they left very few tips. Later came the Chinese, and that’s when we started to miss the Latin Americans,” she says with a bitter smile. “It’s not that they’re bad people – it’s that their model of tourism is different; they barely leave the hotel and spend almost nothing outside.” Overnight, she says, the craft fairs went from being coveted jobs to being the last card left to play.
Varadero beach at 45th Street. / 14ymedio
Covid-19 drove in the final nail. “After the pandemic, the reality became unsustainable,” the driver admits. “When I saw that my income depended on the domestic market, I decided to get out. I worked at whatever I could until they authorised passenger transport licences, and my daughter, from the United States, managed to buy me this electric motorbike. That’s how I survive. When I ferry the current hotel workers around and hear about their problems – which are endless – I know I made the right call.”
The picture painted on the streets is reflected with mathematical precision inside the hotel complexes themselves. Amed, a young man who until a few days ago worked at the Los Delfines hotel, confirms continue reading
the operational collapse of tourism. “They proposed I move to a security guard role because they shut down the hotel restaurant. Now they’re only giving access to the pool and the lobby, and everything is charged exclusively in dollars,” he explains, visibly frustrated.
The employees’ discontent stems from the disappearance of the black market and tips – the two historic pillars that compensated for the poverty-level state salaries. “Everyone in Cuba knows that in tourism you live either off tips or off the food each person manages to sneak out to resell. With no customers in the facilities, there’s neither one nor the other,” Amed laments. On top of that, the dollarisation imposed by the state trading company ITH has shut the door on the island’s own citizens: “ITH now only accepts dollars, so the hotels can’t offer anything in pesos to the same Cubans who get paid in that currency. How is there supposed to be any domestic tourism like that?”
Caffechino, in Varadero, was the busiest spot a year ago. / 14ymedio
For the young man, the decision to leave the sector was a matter of pure survival. “Today is my last day of work. I didn’t accept the security guard post. If the bus fare to get here costs me a minimum of a thousand pesos a day return, and can go up to four thousand, how am I supposed to work for a state salary of barely 4,800 pesos a month? There’s no calculator in the world that makes that add up,” he exclaims, before dropping his head and staring at his phone screen.
This near-total paralysis of tourism has produced a devastating domino effect on the communities surrounding the Hicacos peninsula, which have historically depended on the resort’s economic activity. Entire communities that fed off the informal flow of resources and the surpluses taken from the hotels are today completely stranded, stuck in the middle of nowhere and battered by the widespread energy crisis gripping the country.
“Santa Marta is a shadow of what it used to be,” laments a resident of this locality, situated so close to Varadero that its inhabitants consider themselves an inseparable part of it. “The rental properties are closed for lack of customers, the private businesses that were once thriving are falling deeper into decay every day, and food prices are through the roof because now we’re forced to die in the MSMEs*.”
The village of Santa Marta, near Varadero. / 14ymedio
Scarcity has transformed even the family survival networks. “The little that workers manage to take out of the hotels nowadays goes to feed their own families – it’s no longer sold on,” the resident explains, emphasizing her words with desperate gestures. “In Santa Marta there have been entire generations of people who spent their whole lives reselling the rum and drinks that employees from the cayo [the informal name Matanzas locals give to Varadero] gave or passed on to them. Now they’ve had to reinvent themselves, leave the country, or simply go hungry. Not everyone in Varadero and Santa Marta is rich – there are poor families, extremely poor families.”
On top of the lost income comes the ordeal of the blackouts. “What’s normal here now is three consecutive days without electricity, followed by barely two hours with power, before going back to three days in the dark. That destroys the few businesses still standing and wrecks the quality of life of anyone who doesn’t have thousands of dollars to buy solar panels. Right now, Santa Marta is not much different from a rural village in Las Tunas,” the woman concludes.
Despite this severe humanitarian and infrastructural crisis, the authorities pushed ahead with their political-commercial entertainment agenda. Under the Resonance Musique brand, on 29, 30, and 31 May, the official opening of summer in Varadero was celebrated. The festivities, however, turned into a social powder keg.
The event was marked by complete disorganisation, an alarming shortage of food and drink offerings, and, worst of all, serious episodes of physical violence between exhausted workers at the Resonance hotel (formerly the Fiesta Americana, then Sandals) and dissatisfied guests. “It wasn’t worth it at all,” says Rangel, a Cuban citizen who travelled from the capital with his family. “For us, saving up enough money to come here represents an entire year of sacrifice. The party was a complete disaster — the only redeeming features were the beach and the peace and quiet, two things we don’t have back in Centro Habana.”
Rangel lists the logistical failings without hesitation: “We arrived at the hotel at 11 in the morning and didn’t get our room until 9 at night. The general service and the food were dreadful. And the worst part was the party itself: you try to have a good time because you’ve already spent the money, but the performers showed up just to go through the motions and the sound was terrible. I’m never coming back at the start of summer again.”
*MSME – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Translated by GH.
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There is no record of Hegseth having previously visited the Guantanamo Bay base since taking office in 2025, according to available information.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in an archive photo. / EFE
EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington, June 10, 2026 / The United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will travel this Wednesday to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to meet troops deployed at the base and with commanders from US Central Command (Centcom), amid tensions and a series of sanctions against Havana.
The trip is part of a tour to oversee military operations in the region and to make direct contact with deployed forces, at a time of reinforced US presence in the Caribbean and the Middle East, according to the Pentagon.
There is no record of the Secretary having previously visited the Guantanamo Bay base since taking office in 2025, according to continue reading
available information.
Following his visit to the base, Hegseth will travel to Florida, where he will hold meetings with senior Centcom commanders, amid a new round of exchanges of fire with Iran
Following his visit to the base, Hegseth will travel to Florida, where he will hold meetings with senior Centcom commanders, amid a new round of exchanges of fire with Iran in the Middle East and growing tension over Cuba.
This type of trip forms part of his regular troop oversight agenda, with periodic visits to military bases inside and outside the United States to maintain direct contact with commanders and deployed personnel.
The visit comes one week after the US Administration announced new sanctions against Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other senior members of the Havana government, in response to the human rights situation on the island.
Since the start of the year, US President Donald Trump has hardened his policy toward Cuba, with new economic and diplomatic restrictions and increased pressure on the Cuban government, primarily through an oil blockade that began following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on 3 January.
Translated by GH.
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None of the experts consulted consider a U.S. military intervention with troops on the ground to be plausible, but they believe major economic changes are approaching.
Cubans in Miami protested against the measures of the Obama and Biden administrations on numerous occasions, as in this demonstration in 2023. / 14ymedio
EFE / 14ymedio, Washington, June 10, 2026 – An agreement between Cuba and the United States that opens the way to the political and economic changes demanded by Washington on the Island could include concessions from both sides, among them decisions that may prove unpopular within the Cuban exile community, several analysts warned on Tuesday.
Amid the escalation of pressure by the Trump administration on Havana, “there will likely be decisions made” by the Republican administration “that will not satisfy everyone within the Cuban-American community,” said political scientist José Cárdenas.
“Difficult decisions will have to be made and compromises accepted in order to achieve the ultimate goal: a stable and peaceful transition toward something much better,” said the former acting deputy administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at the now-dismantled United States Agency for International Development.
“Difficult decisions will have to be made and compromises accepted in order to achieve the ultimate goal: a stable and peaceful transition toward something much better”
The veteran consultant added, during a discussion at the Inter-American Dialogue, that they are witnessing “a series of factors that continue to increase pressure on the Cuban regime, demonstrating that there is no way out.”
Foreign policy and immigration expert Emily Mendrala concurred continue reading
that an agreement between Cuba and the United States “could involve concessions by both sides.”
“The United States has long demanded the release of political prisoners, a reduction of Russia’s and China’s presence on the Island, whether in intelligence operations or other areas, and the opening of the Cuban economy so that citizens can actively participate in it,” Mendrala explained.
The former senior migration adviser in the White House of Democrat Joe Biden added that Washington could ease sanctions on Cuba and allow the resumption of oil flows that were cut off by Trump last January, which, while not the primary cause of the Island’s severe humanitarian crisis, have worsened it.
In recent weeks, the two neighboring countries have established contacts at the diplomatic, intelligence, and military levels, though these have not produced visible results, at least publicly.
Following the recent criminal accusation against former president Raúl Castro, 95, sanctions against Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel, and threats of reprisals against foreign investors in Cuba, Havana has intensified its rhetoric against its longtime adversary.
The economist insisted that “centralized economic systems do not work. Even Cuba’s allies, such as China and Vietnam, abandoned those systems a long time ago.”
Despite this escalation, and although they acknowledge that conditions on the Island are reaching a breaking point, none of the experts considers a U.S. military intervention with troops on the ground to be likely.
“I believe we are approaching a turning point with regard to Cuba,” warned Ricardo Torres, an associate researcher at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies.
The Cuban economist reiterated that “centralized economic systems do not work. Even Cuba’s allies, such as China and Vietnam, abandoned those systems a long time ago.”
“I believe the Cuban people deserve to hear that from their government: this system does not work. Likewise, on the political level, we need a system that allows for accountability, where the government must answer to its own people,” he concluded.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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The fuel, intended for the private sector, will be stored in Cupet tanks under the supervision of the company Vanguard Energy.
The Florida-based company spent months negotiating a long-term agreement with Washington and Havana for similar shipments “once a month or every 40 days.”
Line of cars waiting to buy fuel at a gas station in Havana / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Madrid, June 10, 2060 – The first significant agreement between Washington and Havana centers on Cuba’s most sought-after scarce commodity: fuel. The Vanguard Energy company, based in Coral Gables, has finalized a contract with a Cuban importing company to lease Cupet facilities and store fuel on a large scale, according to a report published Tuesday by the Miami Herald. In addition, according to Bloomberg, the company is preparing its first shipment of 250,000 barrels of diesel and gasoline, which the U.S. government estimates will cover about 11 days of Cuba’s normal demand.
The agreement is the result of months of discussions among Vanguard, Cuban authorities, and U.S. officials, the Miami Herald reported, citing a company statement. “It is the most significant commercial change in Cuba’s fuel sector in decades,” the statement said.
“We are looking to bring in a reasonably sized vessel, capable of carrying more than 250,000 barrels of diesel and regular 87-octane gasoline, to store them in a tank,” said Vanguard Energy president Matthew Klann, adding that shipments would arrive once a month or every 40 days. He noted that several initial customers have already been identified, including the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Matthew Aho, an adviser at the Miami-based law firm Akerman and a negotiator of the agreement, added that the arrangement will allow increasing amounts of fuel to reach the private sector and, in turn, lower prices.
“We are looking to bring in a reasonably sized vessel, capable of carrying more than 250,000 barrels of diesel and regular 87-octane gasoline, to store them in a tank” once a month or every 40 days
The idea is no longer a small-scale supply operation but rather the privatization of the sector. “As the process moves forward, appears to work, and can be audited, and as both the United States and Cuba see the benefits of privatization in their fuel market, you would expect further progress, more companies entering the market, gas stations selling to the private sector, and the energy and fuel markets beginning to flourish continue reading
again,” Klann added.
“This would be the first process of its kind in Cuba, demonstrating to both sides that privatizing the fuel market is the right way to manage this business,” the president said.
Vanguard Energy, which specializes in regional fuel trading in the Caribbean and Latin America, moved quickly to take advantage of the U.S. government’s authorization to sell gasoline to Cuba’s private sector, which the Cuban government, for its part, authorized to purchase fuel beginning in February. Until now, however, sales could only be made in small quantities. ISO tanks, with a capacity of just over 20,000 liters, must be returned by Cuba after being emptied, making the process costly and inefficient.
The new agreement changes that. “This is not about delivering fuel to Cupet; it is about establishing a physical presence on the Island, where a U.S. person, subject to U.S. law, has the right to inspect the fuel, retains ownership of it, and distributes it only after payment has been made in the United States,” Akerman attorney Augusto Maxwell told the Miami Herald. The arrangement represents a concession by the Cuban government, allowing U.S. audits on Cuban soil and ensuring that payments do not pass through the Island’s banking system. The latter also protects the company from sanctions related to the U.S. embargo.
Akerman affirmed that the contract complies with U.S. legal requirements. “We will be able to provide the U.S. government with complete traceability of sales,” Maxwell said, including guarantees that fuel cannot be sold to the Cuban government, the Armed Forces, or individuals subject to U.S. sanctions. According to the lawyer, the contract includes safeguards such as retaining ownership of the fuel, controlling who may purchase it, and maintaining the ability to monitor and inspect stored fuel.
“Sales will be limited to customers who successfully complete Vanguard’s due diligence program, ensuring transparency, accountability, and compliance with applicable U.S. regulations,” the company said in a statement. “To comply with U.S. law, Vanguard will also implement safeguards to ensure that the fuel is not diverted to the Cuban government or to U.S.-sanctioned state-owned enterprises.”
Initial reactions on social media have been skeptical, if not outright disappointed. “That’s what they’re after, business and money. And to hell with the people”
The challenges, however, remain considerable. Although the company has portrayed the agreement as a “major victory for U.S. policy,” the news has generated unease in some sectors. Early reactions on social media ranged from skepticism to disappointment.
Among the main concerns raised, mostly by Cuban Americans, are the lack of confidence that the Cuban government will not benefit, doubts about the existence of a truly independent private sector, fears that the fuel could be resold to the State, and suspicions that Vanguard Energy may have undisclosed ties to the Cuban regime. “Yet another sign that nothing is going to change in Cuba. It’s a damn joke,” one commenter summarized.
The U.S. State Department and Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to answer questions from the Miami Herald, which views the agreement as a first step toward broader participation by U.S. companies in Cuba’s energy sector and, eventually, the opening of other sectors to private enterprise.
“It opens the door to countless independent distributors and encourages companies much larger than Vanguard Energy to become interested and begin operating in Cuba. It also facilitates a potential transition. We will gain the expertise needed to supply oil to Cuba through the experience acquired with Vanguard,” University of Texas expert Jorge Piñón told the newspaper when asked about the matter.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Cuban writer Odette Casamayor and other authors reflect on language, exile, and literary creation at the Madrid Book Fair
Odette Casamayor has reached “the conviction that there is no home, only being within oneself.” / X / Madrid Book Fair
EFE, Madrid, June 6, 2026 / Writing from the perspective of a foreigner lends literature a singular character, and migration transforms authors into figures who would never have existed had they remained in their home country. Several Latin American writers agreed on this idea during a conversation at the Madrid Book Fair on Friday.
The event, titled “Wrong Journeys, Undefined Hopes and Literary Creation,” was organized at the fair by the Sundial House publishing house of Columbia University.
“I was born in Cuba, but that is not my only origin, I am fundamentally diasporic,” said Odette Casamayor, born in Havana, although she has spent most of her life between Europe and the United States.
The author of Con tinta negra [In Black Ink] confessed that the Afro-diasporic experience has given her the peace of mind to find and love herself in all her “complexity and monstrosity,” as well as the possibility of building loves that “suit her” without disappointing any pre-established code.
To feel at home, she said, she has reached “the conviction that there is no home, only being inside oneself.”
Venezuelan writer Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez, on the other hand, admitted that his prose is a bit “Frankenstein”
“If I hadn’t had to leave Argentina, I would never have written,” said poet Valeria Correa Fiz, who explained that her literature stems from the need to speak in her own language and from the constant introspection continue reading
she experienced when she moved first to Miami, then to Milan, and later to Madrid.
Correa Fiz believes that migrants lose many things, including the feeling of being “local.” “I always return as a visitor,” she said, referring to the cities where she has lived.
Venezuelan writer Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez, on the other hand, accepted that his prose is a bit “Frankensteinian.” Throughout his life, he explained, he has developed a “nomadic subjectivity” in which he has incorporated vocabulary from different places, forcing him to find strategies to make his texts understandable to the widest possible range of Spanish-speaking audiences.
“I don’t speak Castilian, I speak Puerto Rican Spanish.”
Originally from Barquisimeto, Méndez Guédez pointed out that the transformations do not only occur in those who leave, but also in the places that remain in memory and that, meanwhile, change in real life.
On occasion, he said, the most melancholic places are not on the other side of the world, but “two blocks” from the house where one grew up.
“I don’t speak Castilian, I speak Puerto Rican Spanish,” said Puerto Rican linguist Natalia Olivero Huffman, referring to the decisions she makes when writing.
From her perspective, life is a continuous journey back home. “You can choose your destination, but destination chooses for you,” she asserted.
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Producers will face restrictions on leaving Cuba if they want to retain ownership or use of their land.
“The land was in poor condition and we had to prepare it with our own hands,” say the farmers. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Madrid, June 9, 2026 — Foreigners will be allowed to buy a home in Cuba, but not own land. That is one of the conclusions drawn from the publication this Monday of the draft Agricultural and Forestry Land Law, a measure that consolidates as many as 25 previous laws and is expected to be approved by the National Assembly during its next session in July. The legislation safeguards socialist ownership, except for land belonging to private individuals or agricultural cooperatives (13% and 7%, respectively, while the State owns 80%).
The law is explicit regarding the “protection of land against any transfer of ownership in favor of foreigners,” although interested parties may gain access to land through usufruct by two avenues. As private individuals, this applies to those who have effective residence in Cuba; for foreign or joint-venture companies, authorization will be granted provided they have a legal basis and are aligned with the development strategies of the area.
This is precisely how the Vietnamese company AgriVMA established itself on the Island. Between late November 2024 and January 2025, it obtained 308 hectares of land in Pinar del Río for rice cultivation, becoming the first experience of its kind since 1959. The project has performed well, achieving crop yields far above national averages, and as early as June 2025 the company requested an expansion of its land holdings. Nevertheless, it is still considered almost a unique case.
One of the significant changes compared with previous regulations is the introduction of inheritance agreements, which will allow people to decide during their lifetime who will inherit ownership of the land
One of the significant changes compared with previous regulations is the introduction of inheritance agreements, which will allow people to decide during their lifetime who will inherit ownership of the land, replacing the previous system in which wills were the only means of transferring it. However, it remains mandatory that the land continue to follow the socialist principle that it belongs to those who work it. The new owner must demonstrate continue reading
active involvement—or ensure that others are involved—in making the land productive, applying good agricultural practices, and delivering to the State what has been agreed upon.
These agreements may be revoked if the heir fails to fulfill the obligations assumed with the owner. At the same time, the owner is prohibited from selling or donating the land to a third party while the agreement remains in force; otherwise, compensation must be paid to the heir. Such agreements cannot be verbal and must be registered before a notary and in the corresponding registry.
Another sensitive issue is the treatment of land owned by emigrants. The law divides them into two categories depending on whether they left the country before or after July 2024. Those who emigrated before that date, when the Migration Law was approved but not published until a few weeks ago and still not in force, retain ownership of their land as long as it was not confiscated. However, they lose the right to transfer it, meaning that upon their death the land passes to the State, according to an additional provision of the law.
The only concession to heirs is that they will have a preferential right to obtain the land in usufruct if it is determined that they have no other means of livelihood. In that case, and if authorized by the Municipal Commission on Agrarian Affairs, family members will receive preferential rights to use the land.
The second group consists of emigrants who left after July 2024 and are already subject to the current regulations. It is presumed that they benefited from the elimination of the “automatic confiscation of assets upon permanent departure from the country,” although this was never confirmed because the law remained unpublished for two years. In their case, the determining factor is effective migratory residence, meaning they may lose their land if they fail to keep it actively productive.
If an owner exceeds the permitted absence period without legal justification, it will be considered “abandonment of the land,” triggering sanction procedures that may lead to confiscation of both the land and agricultural assets
The current law imposes travel and residency restrictions abroad on landowners, tied directly to the productivity of the land. Farmers may remain outside Cuba for a maximum of one year and must grant a notarized power of attorney authorizing someone else to temporarily manage the farm during that period. The only exception is in cases of force majeure.
If the owner remains absent beyond the allowed period without legal justification, the situation will be classified as “abandonment of the land,” activating sanctions that may result in the seizure of the land and agricultural assets for failing to fulfill the social function of production.
For producers who do not own their land but hold it in usufruct, the restrictions are even stricter, since the land belongs to the State and their contract requires active use. These farmers must also grant a notarized power of attorney authorizing another person to manage the land, but only for a maximum period of six months. If that period is exceeded without justification, the usufruct contract is terminated and the State reclaims the land.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Since last Friday we’ve only had a few hours of electricity each day, and in my mind, the days are strung together as if it were all one long, unbearable day.
The figure is like the mannequins that filled the shops of my childhood. Unappealing, just like the clothes we could only buy with a ration card or a coupon. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, June 8, 2026 / Three in the morning. There’s electricity and water, so I set up the electric pressure cooker with some beans, fill the washing machine with everything that’s piled up, and jump in the shower. Some Mondays feel like Wednesdays because of the weariness they carry. Weeks that start already old and exhausted. Since last Friday, we’ve only had a few hours of electricity each day, and in my mind, the days are strung together as if it were all one long, unbearable day.
The water revives me. I recover the thread of hope that had been lost to me on Sunday, or perhaps it was Saturday. I don’t remember. It’s barely dawn, and I set off for Old Havana. I prefer to go on foot. The price of private taxis has risen so much, due to the fuel crisis, that I have to choose between taking an almendrón* there or back, because the whole circuit would be crazy for my wallet. A long lament echoes down Ayestarán Street, which also seems like a single voice emanating from different faces.
“Everything went bad,” one elderly woman tells another. “I had to eat the chicken I had in a single day because it wouldn’t last until today,” grumbles a man chatting with two others on a street corner. “Call her and see if there’s electricity in her building so we can bring her the baby’s milk so it won’t spoil,” a woman, holding a baby, shouts to a young man leaving on a motorcycle. In the nearest garbage bin, a package of pork steaks, already turning green, can be seen—slices that were meant to be a meal for some family.
“I don’t care if they come from the US or Burundi, just come now!” shouts a woman leaning out of her balcony.
I turn onto Desagüe Street. “I don’t care if they come from the US or Burundi, just come now!” shouts a woman leaning out of her balcony. She’s wearing a threadbare housecoat and has a desperate look on her face. “My refrigerator is wide open because it’s useless,” she explains. Below, several neighbors add their own dramas, also shouting. “No one has slept in my house for three days because of the heat and the mosquitoes,” one explains. “I already told my work not to expect me back, that I haven’t been able to shower since Thursday.”
I head out onto Carlos III Avenue, and the street vendors are starting to set up their stalls. It’s the same old stuff: tubes of toothpaste, packs of cigarettes, cell phone chargers salvaged from the trash, and over-the-counter medications. But as I approach Reina Street, I see something I initially struggle to identify. It’s a mannequin representing a girl a little a bit over ten years old. It’s naked and wearing a black wig. Next to it, a man is offering the doll without a clear price. “How much will you give me?” he asks when he sees me looking curious.
The figure is like the mannequins that filled the shops of my childhood. Unattractive, just like the clothes we could only buy with a ration book voucher or coupon designated for “industrial products.” I hated those clothes. They were always too big or too small, the fabric itched, or on the day we were supposed to shop, the blouse I wanted was sold out, and I had to go home in pants that seemed more suitable for working in agriculture than for going out with my friends. The 80s were such a bad time for fashion in Cuba that sometimes I don’t even want to look at my photos from that decade.
In Old Havana, I didn’t see a single tourist the whole way. / 14ymedio
The mannequin has some chipped paint. “If you give me 5,000 pesos, you can have it,” the vendor insists. I imagine myself carrying the little girl with the black wig through the streets of Havana on my way home. I have to laugh when I get to the part where I carry her up the 14 flights of stairs and we rest together on some landing while passing neighbors ask about her origins and what I’ll use her for. My dogs would burst out barking at the sight of the figure, a little over a meter tall, entering the doorway. I shake off the daydream and tell the vendor that I would only buy her to make a horror movie, but I already live in one; I don’t need to film one.
I lengthen my stride and finally reach Old Havana. Outside the once glamorous Mercado del Oriente, a woman is on the phone, pleading to be able to store some food in a friend’s freezer. She eventually manages to get some space in the refrigerator, which is also off due to a power outage, but “still keeps things somewhat cold.” I don’t see a single tourist along the entire route. I only see people in long lines outside the banks, the Etecsa office, and the Commerce Market Building, where there’s an office of the Spanish Consulate in Havana.
Two women dressed in brightly colored traditional costumes and headscarves walk ahead of me. They scan the room, searching for a foreign visitor who will pay them for a photo, which they can then take back to their country and show off with a sly grin. They are like mannequins in a shop window that no one passes by.
*Almendrón: A classic American car operating as a shared tai, generally on a fixed route. The name references the car’s ‘almond’ shape
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
Interior Trade Minister Betsy Díaz and President Miguel Díaz-Canel have thanked both countries for their support of the Island.
The commercial vessel Asian Katra docked this Sunday at the Port of Havana. / EFE
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, June 8, 2026 / Cuba received a donation of 1,700 tons of food and other basic necessities this Sunday from Mexico and Belize, intended to help alleviate the shortages affecting most of the Island’s population as a result of the energy and economic crisis.
State media reported that the commercial vessel Asian Katra arrived at the Port of Havana carrying the humanitarian aid shipment as a “demonstration of cooperation and solidarity from the governments and peoples of Mexico and Belize.”
They also indicated that solidarity organizations supporting Cuba, Cuban residents in both countries, and a campaign launched by the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, among other participants, contributed to “managing, organizing, and assembling” the operation.
Upon receiving the donation, Interior Trade Minister Betsy Díaz highlighted Mexico’s “unconditional and historic” assistance and thanked the authorities, public figures, and organizations of both nations for their support of the Island.
Solidarity organizations supporting Cuba, Cuban residents in both countries, and a campaign launched by the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, among other participants, contributed to “managing, organizing, and assembling” this operation
President Miguel Díaz-Canel also expressed his gratitude on social media. “The ship carrying 1,700 tons of food and supplies from Mexico and Belize is now continue reading
in Havana. An effort by both governments, solidarity groups, Cubans residing in those sister nations, and La Jornada. We are grateful for this embrace of solidarity in such difficult times. #CubaNoEstáSola [#CubaIsNotAlone],” he posted.
In recent years, Mexico has established itself as one of Cuba’s most active regional partners in humanitarian assistance, sending fuel shipments and several cargoes of essential goods.
The arrival of this shipment adds to other aid operations received from Spain, Brazil, Uruguay, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, United Nations agencies, and a shipment sent by Colombia, which has announced that it is currently en route to the Island.
In March and April, the Convoy Nuestra América, made up of activists from several countries in Europe, Mexico, and the United States, also delivered several tons of food, medical supplies, solar panels, photovoltaic systems, and educational materials.
The Island, already burdened by six years of deep economic crisis, is now virtually paralyzed by fuel shortages, from hospitals to gas stations, and from public transportation to state-run enterprises, with medicine shortages, high inflation, partial dollarization, and blackouts that affect large regions of the country for more than 20 hours a day.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Protests are multiplying during one of the worst weeks for Cuba’s electrical system, which is unable to meet more than one-third of national demand.
Protesters block the Vía Blanca in Havana as a demonstration against power outages. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Havana, June 8, 2026 — More than 50 people blocked the Vía Blanca in Havana this Sunday, according to documentation obtained by this newspaper, which witnessed the police deployment in the protest area. Residents demonstrated against the lack of electricity service, which they said they had been without for three days, according to one participant’s testimony.
Women, teenagers, and children were the main participants in the protest. Standing on the roadway and blocking one of the main highways connecting the capital to Matanzas, demonstrators banged pots and pans to express their discontent. After nearly half an hour, several police patrol cars arrived in the area to persuade protesters to end the traffic disruption.
Scarcity and desperation are pushing more and more citizens to take to the streets and protest, even in broad daylight, despite the usual police response and the arrests that often accompany these demonstrations.
The energy crisis affects virtually every aspect of daily life on the Island. Power outages also interrupt water service, make food preservation difficult, prevent sleep during hot, humid nights filled with mosquitoes—carriers of diseases such as dengue—and complicate medical care in hospitals.
Scarcity and desperation are pushing more and more citizens into the streets despite police responses and arrests
Cuba’s Electric Union (UNE) has spent weeks reporting disruptions affecting more than 60% of national demand during peak consumption hours after sunset. This situation has resulted in blackouts lasting more than 48 consecutive hours in some parts of the country and more than 20 hours per day in Havana. continue reading
Yesterday, Sunday, eleven of the country’s 16 thermoelectric generating units—most of which operate on domestically produced crude oil—were out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance work. Forecasts for Monday are very similar, with 10 units offline.
Among them is the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the Island’s largest power generator, which had been contributing 220 MW. It disconnected from the National Electric System (SEN) last Friday for the thirteenth time this year, and repairs will still “take the necessary time under established controls,” according to its director, Román Pérez Castañeda.
The structural problems affecting thermoelectric plants, which are responsible for 40% of electricity generation, stem mainly from decades of operation beyond their intended service life and from a chronic lack of investment.
Protests are recurring frequently in different parts of Havana and other provinces, with pot-banging demonstrations, garbage fires, and road blockades
These incidences are compounded by generation limitations caused by fuel shortages. A total of 106 distributed-generation plants remain out of service, creating a deficit of 890 MW. The Turkish floating power plant [“patana“] in Regla is in the same situation.
According to the UNE report, electrical service was affected by insufficient generating capacity throughout all 24 hours on Sunday, and the disruption continued during the early morning hours, reaching a maximum deficit of 1,953 MW at 9:20 p.m. For Monday, a deficit of 2,045 MW is forecast during peak hours, equivalent to nearly 67% of the estimated demand of 3,050 MW.
Protests were also reported on Sunday in the municipality of Regla during the daytime. Demonstrations have become frequent in different areas of Havana and other provinces, especially during blackout nights, involving pot-banging protests, the burning of garbage piles, and road blockades. Many of these demonstrations have ended with police repression and the detentions of participants.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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Since March, “the presence of the disease in a number of people higher than the usual figure of recent years” has been reported.
Authorities indicate that the incidence of this disease could surge this month. / Tele Pinar
14ymedio, Havana, June 7, 2026 — Without providing figures, Belkys González Robaina, head of the Digestive Disease Transmission Program in Pinar del Río, reported that the province has experienced “an unusual increase in cases” of hepatitis A. In a report published by Radio Guamá, the specialist warned that outbreaks are most prevalent in the Jagüey Cuyují and Cuba Libre people’s councils in the municipality of Pinar del Río, and in the Urban People’s Council in San Luis.
In statements to the provincial media outlet, the official also explained that the incidence of this disease, as well as other digestive-transmission illnesses, could increase due to rainfall and contamination of groundwater sources.
In light of this, González Robaina emphasized the need to strengthen hygiene and sanitation measures to curb the spread of the virus, which is transmitted primarily through the consumption of contaminated water or food. Recommendations include chlorinating water, applying disinfectant solutions in bathrooms to eliminate fecal and urine residue from patients, properly washing the clothing of infected individuals, and avoiding contact with healthy people.
Health alerts over hepatitis outbreaks in Pinar del Río have accumulated in recent months. Last March, Yusmary Estévez Mitjáns, deputy director of the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology, reported an increase in suspected cases in the municipality of Minas de Matahambre and in the provincial capital, specifically in the town of La Coloma.
González Robaina stressed the need to reinforce hygiene and sanitation measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
“In these territories, the presence of the disease in a number of people higher than the usual figure of recent years is likely,” she said at the time, although, as now, she did not provide any figures.
This viral disease, which can be contracted through the consumption of contaminated water or food that has not been properly washed or that has been washed with contaminated water, has also been reported in other continue reading
parts of the country. In Matanzas, Andrés Lamas Acevedo, director of the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology, confirmed in early May the existence of active hepatitis cases in the province, in areas such as Versalles, the Plácido district, La Cumbre, and “isolated cases in all municipalities.”
Although the physician stated in an interview with Girón that all outbreaks were “fairly well controlled,” the same outlet noted at the beginning of its report that, a couple of weeks earlier, “residents of Matanzas Province remain concerned” about the situation.
Regarding the province, the official explained that hepatitis transmission cases had spread “from person to person” and not through water, “as happened 20 years ago in Versalles.” He also attempted to downplay the outbreak: “In reality, there have been few cases.”
Provincial authorities had already announced that epidemiological surveillance had been strengthened in response to the outbreaks
In early April, provincial authorities announced that they had reinforced epidemiological surveillance due to hepatitis outbreaks in several municipalities, with the most critical situation concentrated in the Versalles neighborhood, where 18 active cases were recorded at that time.
Other outbreaks have also been reported in Camagüey. On April 23, provincial television interviewed a health-sector official who acknowledged that there was “an increase in our province of suspected and probable hepatitis A virus cases, mainly concentrated in our municipality.”
In the report, Televisión Camagüey stated that “in a scenario where there are serious problems with solid waste collection, it is urgent to intensify hygiene and sanitation measures.” Despite this situation, the health official interviewed maintained that “at this time, we do not have an outbreak in the municipality of Camagüey, despite a notable increase in the disease.”
“Camagüey has been full of hepatitis cases for months. Where I live, more than 20 people that I know of have had hepatitis. Please, take this seriously,” one user responded to the report published on Facebook. Another commenter also questioned the official message: “Calling them isolated cases is not accurate, because when you diagnose 30 to 40 positive cases in a single day in an emergency room, that is an outbreak.”
“Calling them isolated cases is not accurate, because when you diagnose 30 to 40 positive cases in a single day in an emergency room, that is an outbreak”
At the beginning of the year, health authorities in Ciego de Ávila reported through official media that they were investigating several suspected hepatitis cases detected in different municipalities of the province.
As often happens, no figures were provided, and officials limited themselves to reporting that, after detecting the first patients with symptoms consistent with the disease, the protocols established by the health system had been activated.
Hepatitis is a disease characterized by inflammation of the liver. Among its most common symptoms are fatigue, yellowing of the skin and eyes, nausea, abdominal pain, and dark urine, although it may also occur without symptoms. In severe cases, however, extreme fatigue, fever between 37 and 38 degrees Celsius, headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite, and bleeding gums may occur.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, June 11, 2026 / The Chilean “urban artist”Sebastián E., known professionally as Rata Virus, has attracted significant media attention, including from some international outlets, for the mural he created in José Raúl Capablanca Park in Havana’s Playa municipality. Covering a large wall with a black background, the mural depicts a male figure, with only half of his face and his chest visible, wielding a machete, beneath the caption: “Which side of the edge are you on?”
