Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

U.S. Sends First Flight of Food and Hygiene Supplies to Cuba as Part of Promised $100 Million in Aid

The U.S. State Department reiterates that the shipment is intended “for the Cuban people, who are suffering the consequences of the kleptocracy, brutality, and economic incompetence of the communist regime”

A shipment of aid to Cuba arrives at Miami airport this Tuesday. / Screenshot/@USForeignAssist

14ymedio, Madrid, July 21, 2026 / A shipment consisting of 700 hygiene kits and 700 food packages arrived in Havana this Tuesday from the United States, as part of the Donald Trump administration’s promise to send up to $100 million in humanitarian aid to the island. It is the first under that “historic commitment,” according to a statement from the State Department.

The statement makes clear that the shipment, aboard a plane operated by 7Air Cargo, is intended “for the Cuban people, who are suffering the consequences of the kleptocracy, brutality, and economic incompetence of the communist regime,” and notes that the packages will be delivered through the Catholic Church and Caritas Cuba. The agreement, the statement adds, builds on the success of the previous aid delivery following Hurricane Melissa, which was also handled by the Catholic organization.

Before the press, at a cargo warehouse at Miami International Airport, U.S. authorities said the assistance responds to the “deterioration of humanitarian conditions in Cuba, marked by shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential services.”

The assistance is a response to the “deterioration of humanitarian conditions in Cuba”

It was precisely in an interview given to Roberto Cavada, a Cuban exile in the Dominican Republic, on June 24, that Miguel Diaz-Canel said the $100 million in U.S. aid promised in May by the Trump administration did not include food and medicine. State Department officials pushed back on that a week later, in statements to the independent outlet Cafe Fuerte, flatly rejecting the Cuban president’s comment and announcing that shipments would begin that same month of July – as indeed has happened.

“We can confirm that the aid is ready to be sent and that Miguel Diaz-Canel’s illegitimate regime has been delaying the approvals,” the source said. Asked about the contents of those shipments and Diaz-Canel’s claim, the official added: “That is completely and utterly false. The shipments offered by the State Department include continue reading

food, as was demonstrated during the inspections carried out in the humanitarian aid phases following Hurricane Melissa, and this can be verified by the Catholic Church and other NGOs.”

The U.S. Embassy in Cuba had said on June 17 that 60 of the 100 million dollars announced would be managed by the Catholic Church and the remaining 40 million by other NGOs. The agreement was finalized at a meeting between the head of the diplomatic mission, Mike Hammer; Sean Callahan, president of Catholic Relief Services; and Carmen Maria Nodal Martinez, director of Caritas Cuba.

The U.S. Embassy in Cuba had said on June 17 that 60 of the 100 million dollars announced would be managed by the Catholic Church and the remaining 40 million by other NGOs.

“These meetings addressed coordination for distributing humanitarian aid to ordinary Cubans, with the goal of ensuring that support effectively reaches those who need it most,” a statement issued by the U.S. embassy said.

In October 2025, after Hurricane Melissa struck eastern Cuba, Marco Rubio offered the Cuban regime aid valued at three million dollars. After a back-and-forth between the parties, mainly over how the distribution would be organized, shipments began arriving on January 14, with distribution handled by Catholic Relief Services and Caritas, which have remained in charge of all subsequent shipments.

The organizations have run into serious logistical problems due to fuel shortages, to the point that the Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, told the Washington Post that agreements inevitably had to be reached with the Cuban regime to transport the aid by ship from Havana to Santiago. According to Cafe Fuerte, its source acknowledged that this was a subject that had come up. “Of course, both humanitarian aid and oil and energy matters have been topics at the negotiating table,” the source said.

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

Translated by GH.
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Iberostar Confirms It “No Longer Operates” Any Hotel in Cuba the Same Day Melia Announces Its Withdrawal

Until now, it had continued operating six hotels belonging to Cubanacan and Gran Caribe

14ymedio, Madrid, July 21, 2026 / The Spanish chain Iberostar confirmed this Tuesday that it no longer “operates or markets any hotel in Cuba.” It told the specialized outlet Hosteltur, just hours after the also-Spanish company Melia announced that, starting this Friday, it is ceasing all operations on the island.

In Iberostar’s case, no details were given as to when the withdrawal took effect. On June 1, the hotel company severed ties with Gaviota, the chain controlled by the Business Administration Group S.A. (Gaesa), which had just been sanctioned by the United States, and stopped managing the twelve hotels associated with that entity. Among them were the Hotel Grand Packard, on the Paseo del Prado, and the Iberostar Selection Habana, located in the controversial Torre K and closed for some time due to the crisis. The company announced, however, that it would maintain its presence in Cuba through six properties whose state counterpart belongs to other tourism groups not linked to the military conglomerate, including Cubanacan and Gran Caribe.

Two days later, Melia did the same. The company announced it was abandoning all the Gaviota-managed hotels it operated and retaining management of the remaining 19. Gabriel Escarrer, personally determined to remain in Cuba, had stated in recent weeks that everything was subject to whatever might happen on the island and that, as a publicly traded company, it would ultimately make the decision it had to, out of responsibility to its shareholders.

Those decisions became known close to the deadline set by the U.S. State Department under Executive Order 14404, signed by President Donald Trump on May 1, 2026, which imposed sanctions “on those responsible for repression in Cuba and for threats to U.S. national security and foreign continue reading

policy.” A few days later, the decree began to take concrete form with specific sanctions against Gaesa, its president, Ania Guillermina Lastres, and Moa Nickel S.A.

Since then, both Melia and Iberostar have been in the crosshairs of U.S. pressure.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) set June 5, 2026, as the deadline for these companies to halt their operations, under risk of being exposed to sanctions.

Since then, both Melia and Iberostar have been in the crosshairs of U.S. pressure, even though their executives had assured months earlier that they would not leave Cuba.

In a statement sent to 14ymedio this Tuesday, Melia reported that it will halt all its activity on the island as of July 24, citing “significant” operational, legal, and financial-economic difficulties in the country resulting from U.S. pressure measures, as it also reported today to Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

“The company reports that its Portuguese subsidiary, Ilha Bela, has decided to cease, effective July 24, 2026, the provision of its hotel management and marketing services in connection with all of its properties in Cuba. This decision also extends to the use of licensed brands, inbound tourism services, and the local supply chain associated with supplying the aforementioned properties, whose operations will also be interrupted,” said the company owned by the Escarrer family.

In the same statement, the company denied that its CEO, Gabriel Escarrer, had recently traveled to Cuba, as Cubanet had claimed in a report published this Monday that got ahead of the Balearic hotel company’s decision. Beyond that, it referred entirely to the statement it had issued.

“The company is working to ensure an orderly and responsible transition, minimizing as far as possible the impact on the various stakeholders linked to the operation, including staff, clients, suppliers, and local partners, while maintaining transparent communication with all of them at all times, and is likewise, applying the principle of prudence, assessing the financial impacts of this decision,” the statement notes.

The company, the first foreign hotel operator to enter Cuba to manage state-owned properties, closed its statement by expressing “its gratitude to all the people and entities that have been part of its history in Cuba over the years, as well as the company’s respect and consideration for the country.”

Of the Spanish hotel companies, only Barcelo remains, but not for much longer. The company already announced last June that it plans its definitive exit from the island once its current contracts with Gran Caribe conclude, in 2027. In its case, it had only kept management of the Barcelo Solymar and the Occidental Arenas Blancas, both located in Varadero, though the latter has been closed for months due to the drop in tourism.

Translated by GH.

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Meliá to Completely End Its Hotel Operations in Cuba This Friday

The hotel company attributes the decision to the “significant operational, legal, and economic-financial difficulties” in the country following U.S. pressure measures.

Meliá managed 34 hotels on the Island until just a few months ago.

14ymedio, Madrid, July 21, 2026 – Spanish hotel company Meliá will cease all of its operations on the Island this Friday, July 24, due to the “significant operational, legal, and economic-financial difficulties” in the country following U.S. pressure measures, the company announced Tuesday in a filing with Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

“The company informs that its Portuguese subsidiary, Ilha Bela, has decided to cease, effective July 24, 2026, the provision of its hotel management and marketing services for all of its establishments in Cuba. This decision also extends to the use of licensed brands, inbound tourism services, and the local supply chain associated with supplying the aforementioned establishments, whose operations will also be discontinued,” the Escarrer family company stated in a filing submitted to the CNMV.

In a statement sent to 14ymedio, the company firmly denied that its chief executive officer, Gabriel Escarrer, had recently traveled to Cuba, as Cubanet claimed in a report published Monday that first revealed the Balearic hotel company’s decision. Aside from that, it referred entirely to the official statement it had released.

The company firmly denied that its chief executive officer, Gabriel Escarrer, had recently traveled to Cuba, as Cubanet claimed in a report published Monday

“The company is working to ensure an orderly and responsible transition, minimizing as much as possible the impact on the various stakeholders involved in the operation, including employees, customers, suppliers, and local partners, while maintaining transparent communication with all of them. In keeping with the principle of prudence, it is also evaluating the financial impacts of this decision,” the statement said.

The company, the first foreign hotel operator to enter Cuba to manage state-owned hotels, concluded its statement by continue reading

expressing “its gratitude to all the individuals and organizations that have been part of its history in Cuba over the years, as well as the company’s respect and consideration for the country.”

Meliá arrived in Cuba in 1990 under the leadership of the founder of the Mallorca-based company and father of its current CEO, Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, who developed a close friendship with Fidel Castro. Castro had initially been reluctant to embrace tourism, which he considered closely tied to capitalism, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union he had little choice but to accept the idea of profiting from the Island’s only free resource: its natural environment. Melia celebrated its 35th anniversary in May 2024, when its executives said they hoped for “another 50 years of growing together.”

That first hotel, Sol Palmeras in Varadero, marked the beginning of an adventure that lasted until 2026. Meliá had contracts with Gran Caribe and Cubanacán to manage 19 hotels, while it managed another 15 for Gaviota, the tourism arm of the military conglomerate Gaesa. Altogether, it operated 34 hotels with about 14,000 rooms that, in recent years, had generated only minimal returns.

For Meliá, however, this was not a major problem. The substantial profits the hotel chain earned worldwide allowed it to maintain its ties with Cuba while waiting for conditions to improve, but in May everything began to change.

As early as February, with the suspension of most international flights and the resulting collapse in tourist arrivals, the hotel chain was forced to alter its strategy by consolidating guests into a smaller number of hotels and closing nearly half of its properties. But after U.S. President Trump signed an executive order in May under which any company maintaining ties with Gaesa risked being sanctioned, events accelerated.

On June 3, the company officially announced that it was withdrawing from all of the Gaviota hotels it managed

On June 3, the company officially announced that it was withdrawing from all of the Gaviota hotels it managed, while temporarily retaining management of the remaining 19 properties. Gabriel Escarrer, who had been personally committed to remaining in Cuba, had stated in recent weeks that everything depended on whatever developments occurred on the Island and that, as a publicly traded company, it would ultimately make whatever decision was necessary out of responsibility to its shareholders.

Despite the exodus of foreign hotel companies that have abandoned nearly all of the properties they operated in Cuba in response to the U.S. threat of sanctions, few experts had predicted that Meliá would leave the Island entirely. Most specialists, who had expressed confidence that Trump had set his sights on the tourism sector, believed that some hotel chains—especially the Mallorca-based company, which was foremost in everyone’s mind—would remain to contribute their expertise and capitalize on the many years they had invested in the country. For some reason, that has not been the case.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Spanish NGO ‘Open Arms’ Arrives in Havana With a Donation for a Pediatric Hospital

The activists are delivering solar panels, backup batteries, and medical supplies financed with more than €160,000 raised through self-managed donations from over 4,000 donors.

The ‘Astral’ arrived in Havana this Sunday, and the activists who were traveling on it will be at the Juan Manuel Márquez hospital this Monday. / EFE

14ymedio / EFE, Havana, July 20, 2026 – The sailing vessel Astral, operated by the Spanish NGO Open Arms, which together with more than 150 social and political organizations launched the “Rumbo a Cuba” initiative, arrived Sunday at the Port of Havana carrying seven tons of humanitarian aid destined for a children’s hospital in the Cuban capital.

The Open Arms vessel departed Barcelona in May and traveled 6,200 miles to transport a shipment of solar panels, backup batteries, and medical supplies to Cuba, financed with more than €160,000 raised through self-managed donations from over 4,000 donors.

The donation is intended to provide energy independence for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), intermediate care unit, and clinical laboratory of Havana’s Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital.

At the ceremony welcoming the humanitarian mission, Óscar Camps, founder and director of the NGO Proactiva Open Arms, told the press that the initiative “is a humble contribution made by the organization with the support of the Spanish people” to highlight the humanitarian impact of the United States embargo on the continue reading

Caribbean nation.

Camps congratulated the Cuban people, saying, “You are enduring and resisting an inhumane blockade. You are the true heroes, and the message I bring from my country to the Cuban people is that you are not alone, that this is only the beginning, and we hope others will follow this example.”

“We are living through a very difficult moment because of a blatant violation of international law, human rights, and international agreements,” Camps said, referring to what he described as the energy blockade imposed by the United States on the Island.

The Catalan activist also called for “bringing greater visibility to the problems Cuba is facing” and expressed confidence that doing so “will generate sympathetic support from other organizations that will want to collaborate and do the same” as Open Arms.

In that regard, he noted that his autonomous community, Catalonia, has allocated half a million euros to organizations working in Cuba “after we launched our mission.”

“It has already been worthwhile. We have contributed a tiny drop, a grain of sand, in an effort to repay the solidarity we have always received from the Cuban people,” he added.

The delegation participating in the Rumbo a Cuba humanitarian mission includes several Members of the European Parliament: Miguel Urbán Crespo, co-founder of the Podemos Party; Ana Miranda of the Galician Nationalist Bloc; Su Moreno of the Popular Unity Candidacy; and Aída Llauradó of Comuns. They took part last Saturday in an event at the Casa de las Américas cultural institution.

On Monday, the organizers of Rumbo a Cuba are scheduled to visit the hospital benefiting from the initiative, as well as participate in an activity with children at a cultural center in the Cuban capital.

Last March, the Island received the Nuestra América Convoy, a flotilla that sailed from Mexico carrying 14 tons of food, medicine, and solar panels.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Four Days After Granting It to Cuban Activist Otero Alcántara, the U.S. Approves Parole for Maykel Osorbo

The rapper received his first family visit at Guanajay prison after being transferred from Kilo 8.

Unlike Otero Alcántara, rapper and political prisoner Maykel “Osorbo” has not completed his prison sentence. / Redes sociales

14ymedio, Madrid, July 21, 2026 — The U.S. government has approved a special travel permit (parole) for Cuban rapper and political prisoner Maykel Castillo Pérez, known as Maykel Osorbo, according to information released Tuesday by the Observatory of Cultural Rights and activist and art historian Anamely Ramos.

The authorization is similar to the one granted to artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who arrived in Miami last Saturday after fully serving his five-year prison sentence and being forced into exile. It was processed in parallel by those close to him. According to the joint statement from the Observatory and Anamely Ramos, the application is based “on the certainty that his arbitrary imprisonment has political origins and has violated his human rights, as well as his right to freedom of expression and artistic creation.”

It is therefore expected that the regime will follow the same course with Castillo as it did with Alcántara and grant his release from prison in exchange for exile.

The statement also reports that Osorbo received his first family visit on Tuesday since being transferred on July 10 to the maximum-security prison in Guanajay, Artemisa. During the visit, the musician confirmed that he had been placed in “La Incrementada,” the same section where Otero Alcántara was held until three days before being removed from the prison. He also explained that the authorities allowed him to bring his personal belongings into the new detention facility.

It is therefore expected that the regime will follow the same course with Castillo as it did with Alcántara and grant his release from prison in exchange for exile

Unlike Otero Alcántara, the rapper and fellow member of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), Maykel Osorbo, has not completed his sentence. Both artists share the same criminal case despite having been arrested at different times, one of the clearest signs of the arbitrariness of their prosecutions. While Alcántara was arrested on July 11, 2021, before he could take part in that day’s demonstrations, Osorbo was detained nearly two months earlier, on May 18, 2021

Both artists share the same criminal case despite having been arrested at different times, one of the clearest signs of the arbitrariness of their prosecutions

The events for which they were prosecuted took place in early April of that same year when they organized a street party outside Damas 955, the headquarters of the San Isidro Movement and Otero Alcántara’s residence, where Patria y Vida, by then already an anthem of dissent, was sung. On that occasion, the police, who had deployed a heavy operation throughout that area of Old Havana, attempted to arrest Maykel Osorbo, but he resisted. The image of the rapper with a handcuff dangling from one wrist went viral.

More than a year after his arrest, in June 2022, a court sentenced him to nine years in prison on charges of assault, resisting arrest, contempt, public disorder, and defamation of institutions, organizations, heroes, and martyrs.

Last June, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concluded that Osorbo’s detention was arbitrary and recommended that the Cuban government overturn his conviction, release him immediately, and investigate the human rights violations committed against him.

“Maykel is a survivor and a fighter, and if I survived, he’ll be alright as far as possible.”

Having just arrived in Miami last Saturday, during an event at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity where he reconstructed a broken image of the Virgin of Charity as a symbol of Cuba’s reconstruction, Otero Alcántara assured everyone that Maykel Osorbo would be in Miami “very soon.” According to him, the rapper could arrive in the US “in less than a month,” based on information he had received from the US Embassy in Havana. “Maykel is a survivor and a fighter, and if I survived, he’ll be alright, as far as possible,” he added.

The Observatory of Cultural Rights and Anamely Ramos concluded their statement demanding the immediate release of Osorbo and denouncing “the instrumentalization of the Cuban penitentiary system against artists, activists and critical voices that confront the Cuban government.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Economists Estimate Cuba Will Need Three Years to Complete an “Emergency Stabilization”

Cuba Transformación calls for political changes to transform the country into a social market economy supported by a democratic state governed by the rule of law.
Negotiations with the United States are essential, they say, to achieve a relaxation of sanctions.

The economists call for support for small and medium-sized private enterprises (mipymes) as engines of investment, innovation, and job creation. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, July 20, 2026 – Cuba Transformación believes that an initial phase of “stabilization and emergency” aimed at “halting macroeconomic deterioration,” addressing the energy crisis, and reviving agriculture and tourism will take approximately three years. The working group, announced last June and made up of five independent Cuban experts tasked with developing a proposal for economic transformation, considers it “essential” that, before any viable plan can begin, negotiations take place through which the United States eases sanctions, since their continuation, they argue, “constitutes one of the main obstacles to recovery.”

The document is 120 pages long, although the specialists—Mauricio De Miranda, Omar Everleny Pérez, Ricardo Torres, and Pavel Vidal, all critics of the current regime, although Vidal is also among the experts consulted by Díaz-Canel—have prepared a 19-page executive summary outlining its main principles. In the introduction, the text makes clear that it is neither a response to nor a complement of the 176 measures presented by the Cuban government, but rather its own methodology and sequence of reforms. Its premise is clear: Cuba should become a social market economy supported by a democratic state governed by the rule of law, including multiparty elections, freedom of association, freedom of the press and expression, transparency, and the subordination of state powers to the law.

Furthermore, the transformation must be “conceived, led, and carried out by Cubans themselves, in the national interest” and in order to avoid the loss of sovereignty. However, the exile community will play a fundamental role, they argue, not only because of its Cuban identity but also because of its experience, networks, and capital. Another essential component will be the international community, which they urge to create an assistance fund that would be crucial in ensuring that the enormous initial costs of rebuilding a currently decapitalized system do not fall on the population, especially its most vulnerable sectors. continue reading

Another essential component will be the international community, which they urge to create an assistance fund that would be crucial in ensuring that the enormous initial costs of rebuilding a currently decapitalized system do not fall on the population

The document insists that, at present, the suspension of fuel shipments from Venezuela and the threat of sanctions against both countries that might sell hydrocarbons to Cuba and companies that do business with the regime are preventing recovery. That does not mean, however, that responsibility is attributed solely to the United States. The economists argue that the current crisis “is not a temporary phenomenon nor can it be explained exclusively by recent external shocks.” Instead, those shocks have had such a profound impact because they struck “an economy that had already accumulated structural weaknesses, limited adjustment capacity, and long-postponed reforms.”

The experts also warn that the situation is becoming more complicated in every respect, including Cuba’s de facto dependence on the United States—not at the state level, but because remittances largely originate there. In the experts’ view, money and shipments from relatives have become the equivalent of the support once provided first by the Soviet Union and later by Venezuela.

The document also states that reality has already imposed part of the adjustment. “The State has, in real terms, reduced its ability to finance public goods, investment, social services, and subsidies, while inflation and currency depreciation have severely eroded purchasing power.” Furthermore, “there has been a growing de facto commercialization of essential services. In this context, poverty ceases to be a residual phenomenon and becomes a structural feature of Cuban social reality,” it adds.

In response, the proposal should be divided into three phases, although the current document addresses only the first: stabilization and emergency. The other two phases, expected after the initial three-year period, are “reactivation and institutional development,” focused on structural reforms to increase competitiveness, improve resource allocation, restore financial credibility, and to implement “model consolidation,” aimed at defining the social contract and the medium- and long-term development strategy.

For now, the priority is to begin the first phase, which requires at least six priority areas detailed in the document. The first concerns macroeconomics and prices. Its key proposals include integrating all State entities, including Gaesa, into the civilian fiscal system and unifying the exchange rate market where three vastly different rates currently coexist, only one of which remotely reflects reality, under a managed floating system overseen by a Central Bank of Cuba that performs the functions appropriate to such an institution rather than merely implementing the regime’s directives. It also calls for price liberalization, the elimination of price caps, and updated wages and pensions. In addition, it proposes eliminating automatic subsidies and focusing assistance on vulnerable populations. It also suggests creating a stabilization fund to channel external resources and proceeds from asset sales. Transparency, especially in the national budget, is considered indispensable.

Regarding energy, the second area on the list and a top priority, the experts urgently call for contracting floating power plants and restoring thermoelectric plants. They also propose accelerating solar energy projects with storage capacity, approving new electricity rates, improving the quality of the domestic crude oil used in thermal plants, and opening the fuel import, distribution, and marketing market under a regulated framework.

Regarding energy, the second area on the list and a top priority, the experts urgently call for contracting floating power plants and restoring thermoelectric plants. They also propose accelerating solar energy projects with storage capacity and approving new electricity rates

Agriculture and tourism are also included in this phase. Among the priority objectives are eliminating the state procurement system and replacing it with voluntary contracts at market prices, allowing private participation in the agricultural sector—a measure that apparently has already been approved—and creating a market for buying, selling, and leasing farmland. The document calls for tax and tariff incentives to encourage investment in agricultural infrastructure and greater digitalization of agricultural marketing. It also considers it necessary to guarantee a stable energy supply to tourist destinations, strengthen their ties with local producers, and reposition the Cuba brand.

Regarding property rights and business transformation, the proposal calls for eliminating obstacles to the growth of small and medium-sized private enterprises (mipymes), with tax incentives to encourage expansion. At the same time, it recommends breaking up the military conglomerate Gaesa by transferring its companies, assets, and foreign currency holdings to civilian institutions and the Central Bank, while closing or restructuring unviable state-owned enterprises and creating “transparent” privatization processes.

The fifth section addresses “external integration.” It calls for eliminating the state’s monopoly on foreign trade, a measure already contemplated by the regime, formally applying for Cuba’s membership in the principal international financial institutions, restructuring the country’s foreign debt, and beginning bilateral negotiations to resolve claims related to the property confiscations of the 1960s.

Finally, the document also focuses on “social protection and governance.” In this section, it considers it essential to establish a protection package to cushion the effects of labor market adjustment and to audit the program using mandatory social indicators. It also proposes reforming the Labor Code by recognizing diverse forms of property ownership, freedom of association for labor unions, and the right to strike. In addition, it calls for decentralizing fiscal authority and enforcing “strict anti-corruption frameworks.”

All of these measures, along with many others, should be implemented sequentially. While some, the authors note, can be introduced simultaneously, others require that certain reforms precede the rest.

The document concludes by calling on the international community for assistance and support, as well as inviting other experts to contribute to proposals that the authors do not consider final. “The strategic objective of this process is the construction of a social market economy within the framework of a democratic state governed by the rule of law. Expanding the role of the market and private initiative does not weaken the State, but rather redefines and strengthens its capabilities,” they conclude.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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Cubans in the MLB All-Star Game: Stories of Boats, Escapes, and Exile

The votes these Cubans received for the so-called All-Star Game were no coincidence. Each of them put up the numbers necessary to earn a place in Philadelphia.

Miguel Vargas decided to leave with his father, Lázaro Vargas, when he was 16 years old. / Chicago White Sox

14ymedio, Andy Lans, Matanzas, July 20, 2026 – Yordan Álvarez left Cuba and established residency in Haiti. Randy Arozarena boarded a boat from Pinar del Río to Mexico. Yandy Díaz also left by boat, traveling from Holguín to the Dominican Republic. Aroldis Chapman defected from Team Cuba while the team was in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Andy Pagés completed a route through Guyana, Curaçao, and Haiti before arriving in the Dominican Republic.

Raisel Iglesias managed to leave the Island more than a decade ago after a failed attempt, while Miguel Vargas decided to leave with his father, Lázaro Vargas, when he was 16 years old. The father of Sal Stewart Jr. and the mother and paternal grandparents of Nick Martínez also left Cuba. All of them, on the grass at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, represented the Cuban exile community at the 96th Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game.

The game, held on July 14, ended with a 4-0 victory for the American League over the National League

The game, held on July 14, ended with a 4-0 victory for the American League over the National League. The standout offensive performances by the Cuban players were hits from Yordan and Randy, along with a tremendous home run by Miguel Vargas in the eighth inning. Pitchers Nick Martínez and Raisel Iglesias each retired one inning, while Aroldis Chapman recorded two outs, one of them by strikeout.

The votes these Cubans received for the so-called All-Star Game were no coincidence. Each of them put up the numbers necessary to earn a place in Philadelphia. Most ranked among the league’s statistical leaders before the All-Star break.

Yordan Álvarez stood out with the Houston Astros. He led all of MLB in continue reading

slugging percentage (.633), on-base percentage (.426), and OPS (1.059), while ranking second in home runs (31) and RBIs (71), and fourth in batting average (.318). Those last three figures positioned him to compete for the American League Triple Crown.

Yandy Díaz continued adding to his legacy with the Tampa Bay Rays. The veteran slugger, son of former second baseman Jorge “La Araña” Díaz, finished the first half leading the American League in batting average at .322. As if that were not enough, he ranked sixth in the league in hits with runners on base (53) and second in hits with runners in scoring position (30). He batted .393 with runners on base and .441 with runners in scoring position, demonstrating his ability to deliver in crucial moments.

Another Rays player, Nick Martínez, carried the tenth-best earned run average of the season at 2.65 over 105.1 innings. The Cuban-American right-hander had eight wins and two losses, 62 strikeouts, only 19 walks, and a 1.12 WHIP, proving that no matter how old the wind gets, it still blows.

It is not far-fetched that many analysts view Miguel Vargas as the most offensively gifted third baseman in Major League Baseball. Among players whose natural position is third base this season, the emerging Chicago White Sox star led in runs scored (64), walks (56), and extra-base hits (42). He also ranked second in doubles (20) and RBIs (59), and third in home runs (21) and stolen bases (11).

Meanwhile, Cuban-American Sal Stewart Jr. has set the standard among rookies by leading them in extra-base hits (41), RBIs (65), and doubles (22). The versatile Cincinnati Reds infielder has already become one of the leading candidates for the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

The versatile Cincinnati Reds infielder has already become one of the leading candidates for the National League Rookie of the Year Award

Randy Arozarena enjoyed another outstanding first half with the Seattle Mariners, combining power and speed. He demonstrated this by tallying 21 doubles, one triple, and 11 home runs, along with 19 stolen bases in 24 attempts. His .380 on-base percentage also highlighted his ability to reach base.

With a demanding franchise like the Los Angeles Dodgers, outfielder Andy Pagés has handled the pressure well. His 66 RBIs ranked seventh in all of Major League Baseball. Some of his most impressive achievements also came with runners on base. In those situations, he ranked third in MLB in home runs (13) and first in extra-base hits (25).

What more can be said about the ageless Aroldis Chapman and Raisel Iglesias? Both closers once again justified why they are the top two Cuban pitchers in career saves in the world’s premier baseball league. Chapman, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, became in 2026 the relief pitcher with the most strikeouts in MLB history, and arrived at Citizens Bank Park with 19 saves, an outstanding 2.20 ERA, and 36 strikeouts in 28.2 innings pitched. Meanwhile, Raisel recorded the same number of saves with the Atlanta Braves, posting a 2.23 ERA along with 36 strikeouts in 32.1 innings.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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El Bahía, a Symbol of Matanzas, Fades Amid Padlocks and Blackouts

The iconic Peñas Altas recreational complex remains practically closed due to the energy crisis and poor state management

There, where orchestras once played and the buzz of young people mixed with the waves breaking against the rocks, faded railings now predominate. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 20 July 2026 / The highway enters Matanzas along the coast, and before the bridges and the city skyline come into view, a building with modern lines still catches the eye. Painted blue and white, with large windows and the name of Matanzas crowning the roof in huge red letters, the gastronomic and cultural complex El Bahía retains the elegance of another era. From a distance, the photos are deceiving: it looks like a place ready to welcome tourists and families. Get closer, though, and it becomes clear that much of that splendor has been left locked behind padlocked doors.

Located in Peñas Altas, right on the coastline, El Bahía is no ordinary restaurant for the people of Matanzas. For decades it was a gathering place for family celebrations, concerts, dance nights, and dinners with one of the best views of Matanzas Bay. Today, however, the picture has gone silent.

“It’s a shame that such a beautiful place stays closed practically every day of the week. It only operates when there’s power,” Horacio, a local resident who collects empty beer and soda cans to sell to the state as raw materials, tells 14ymedio.

“It’s a shame that such a beautiful place stays closed practically every day of the week. It only operates when there’s power”

The man, his skin weathered by sun and sea salt, recalls when on weekend nights it was hard to find a spot to park an almendrón [a classic American car used as a private taxi] nearby. “Now you can walk through here and all you hear is the sea,” he says, pointing toward the ranchón continue reading

and the old Las Terrazas cabaret.

There, where orchestras once played and the buzz of young people mixed with the waves breaking against the rocks, faded railings now predominate, weeds are growing across the outdoor areas, and a decline seems to be advancing faster than any recovery plan. “That whole area needs proper maintenance. If it keeps being neglected like this, it will end up costing twice as much to fix later. I think that before this keeps falling apart, the Provincial Lodging Company should lease it to someone willing to invest here,” Horacio suggests.

On the second floor, the restaurant El Mirador offered a privileged view of the bay. From its windows, diners could watch ships entering the port while they had lunch. For years, a meal service for vulnerable people also operated there.

Photo caption: Painted blue and white, with large windows and the name of Matanzas crowning the roof in huge red letters, the gastronomic and cultural complex El Bahía retains the elegance of another era / 14ymedio

“From Monday to Saturday they used to sell us a fairly decent meal for 20 pesos, but that’s stopped too,” Horacio laments. “They tell us they can’t cook because there’s no power or gas. The head chef assured me that lunches would come back once conditions improve, but I don’t put much faith in those promises anymore.”

The ongoing blackouts plaguing Cuba’s economy have ended up reaching even a place meant precisely for leisure. The energy crisis forces the site to close whenever there’s no electricity, but the problems go well beyond power outages.

A few steps away is another Matanzas resident, who for years worked cleaning the complex’s public restrooms. Today he sells pizzas for a private business.

“Especially on Saturdays, this place used to be packed until two or three in the morning,” the man recalls. “The electricity problem has hit us hard, but so has the lack of management. If people know they can come from downtown Matanzas and find the place closed or with nothing on offer, they simply stop coming.”

Both agree that the complex’s reputation has deteriorated at the same pace as its facilities. “Word has already gotten around all of Matanzas that the El Faro bar almost never has a variety of drinks and that the cocktails aren’t made the way they used to be,” adds the former employee. “Anyone with money wants to spend it somewhere worthwhile, not come here to try their luck.”

The paradox is even greater because just a few years ago the complex seemed to be starting a recovery. In October 2023, a modern Ocio Club with virtual reality equipment and video games was inaugurated there, presented by the state press as one of the main new recreational attractions to celebrate the city’s 330th anniversary. Authorities said at the time that the project would expand entertainment options for children and young people and revitalize the property.

However, the momentum appears to have quickly run out. The building, which still retains an attractive architecture and a prime seafront location, depends – like so many other things in Cuba – on an electrical supply that almost never arrives and on promises of recovery that have taken far too long to become reality.

Translated by GH

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At Least 97 Recruits Have Died During Military Service in Cuba Since 2001

An Ocac report reveals that suicide is the leading cause of death, with 33 cases, and warns of sentences of up to ten years for those who survive an attempt

Photo caption: Young people who try to evade military service can face sentences of up to five years in prison. / Luis Herrera/Escambray

14ymedio, Madrid, July 20, 2026 / At least 97 young people have died while performing Active Military Service (SMA) in Cuba between 2001 and 2026. The figure appears in a report from the Cuban Citizen Audit Observatory (Ocac) – an independent entity run by the think tank Cuba Siglo 21 – which also concludes that suicide is the leading cause of death among recruits and warns of an increasingly restrictive system, with little transparency and no mechanisms for accountability when a tragedy occurs.

According to the report published this Monday, drawn from a registry of cases verified by Archivo Cuba and independently cross-checked, of the 97 deaths of young recruits, 33 correspond to suicides, or 34% of the total. The report also notes an increase in reported suicides in recent years and highlights that 2025 was the year with the most cases: 22 – although the authors note that this increase may also reflect a greater ability to document and publicize these events.

The study stresses that these figures represent a documented minimum. The organization notes that the Cuban state does not publish official statistics on deaths during military service and states that there are dozens of additional cases still pending verification. Victims’ families frequently report contradictory official accounts, difficulties accessing forensic reports, and a lack of independent investigations that would reveal what actually happened.

The report also notes an increase in reported suicides in recent years and highlights that 2025 was the year with the most cases: 22

Of the 97 deaths reported since 2001, the report attributes 25 to “serious negligence,” 22 to accidents, six to lack of medical care, six to killings, two to disappearances, and in three other cases the cause of death could not be determined. In the 63 cases where age could be confirmed, the average is 18.7 years, and seven of the deceased were under 18. continue reading

Ocac also charges that, rather than seeking solutions to this alarming situation, Cuban law has toughened penalties against those who try to avoid military service. The law keeps service mandatory for men from age 17, requires registration starting at age 16, and expressly denies the right to conscientious objection. The Military Penal Code, passed in 2023, stiffened penalties for those who attempt to evade military service, with sentences of up to five years in prison, and also punishes self-harm, feigning illness, or falsifying medical documents to obtain a discharge.

The report further states that the Military Prosecutor’s Office can treat a suicide attempt as an act of desertion, with sentences exceeding ten years in prison for those who survive.

Testimonies gathered by the researchers describe extreme methods used to try to leave military service: self-inflicted wounds with weapons, swallowing sharp objects, machete wounds to the ankles and knees, or deliberately caused fractures. Several former recruits said that, for many young people, self-harm ends up being the only way out of a system they describe as oppressive and degrading. When that path doesn’t work either, the report adds, some come to see suicide as the only way out.

The Military Prosecutor’s Office can treat a suicide attempt as an act of desertion, with sentences exceeding ten years in prison for those who survive

The document argues that Cuba’s legal framework conflicts with several international commitments taken on by Havana, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and International Labour Organization conventions, by allowing the enlistment of minors under 18 and the use of recruits for agricultural, construction, or guard duties that, according to the authors, go beyond the strictly military nature of the service.

Ocac also warns of repeated reports of young people sent into military service despite suffering from psychological problems or illnesses incompatible with handling weapons. As an example, it cites the case of Dailier Rodríguez Tamayo, a 19-year-old who died in March of this year at a military unit in El Cotorro, Havana. The recruit had a ruling from the Naval Hospital advising against his carrying weapons due to his mental health, but he remained assigned to the unit regardless.

Another point the report highlights is the opacity surrounding recruits’ deaths, as in the case reported by Mercedes Roque, mother of Antonio Alejandro Rossi Roque, another young man who died during military service under circumstances that have still not been clarified. The woman blamed the unit’s commanders and said that “they all keep covering for each other,” while she continues to wait for a convincing explanation of her son’s death.

The absence of independent investigations and the lack of oversight mechanisms have allowed these events to be repeated for decades

The report also recalls two of the best-known tragedies of recent years: the deaths of four recruits in the fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base in August 2022, and the explosion at a military warehouse in Melones, Holguín, in January 2025, which killed nine young people performing military service along with four officers.

The authors contrast the evolution of military service on the island with that of other Latin American countries, where mandatory conscription has been reduced or eliminated in recent decades. Cuba has gone the opposite way, strengthening criminal penalties and maintaining one of the most rigid recruitment systems in the region. The report concludes that the problem extends beyond the military sphere and also affects the rights of young people and their families. In its view, the lack of transparency, the absence of independent investigations, and the lack of oversight mechanisms have caused these events to repeat for decades without any fundamental change to the system.

Translated by GH.

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A Blackboard Is Enough To Understand Inflation in Cuba

Rising prices force people to give up nutritious foods and reduce portion sizes.

Looking at these numbers written on a whiteboard, you realize they’re not just prices. They’re decisions. Do I buy rice or oil? Do I get eggs or keep the money for transportation? / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, 18 July 2026 / You don’t need an economic report or a table full of statistics. It’s enough to spend a few minutes looking at the blackboard in any market to understand how Cubans’ wallets are shrinking.

A pound of rice, that food that for decades was the centerpiece of the family table, now costs 360 pesos. Black beans reach 450 pesos. A kilogram of wheat flour exceeds 1,000 pesos. A carton of eggs is around 3,000 pesos, and a liter of vegetable oil surpasses 2,000 pesos.

Meanwhile, the average monthly salary in Cuba still does not reach 7,000 pesos.

Looking at these numbers written on a whiteboard, you realize they’re not just prices. They’re decisions. Do I buy rice or oil? Do I buy eggs or save the money for transportation? Do I cook beans today or continue reading

wait until next month?

A few years ago, finding a pound of rice for 360 pesos would have seemed absurd. Today, many people read that price, sigh, and hand their bag to the vendor.

Inflation is no longer a word reserved on this island for economists. It has the face of the mother counting her bills again before entering the store. Of the retiree walking around the block again, empty-handed. Of the worker who gets paid and, before the first week is over, discovers that his salary has already lost another battle.

Official data shows that prices rose again in June, particularly for food and transportation, while the increase in the informal market continues to accelerate. Accumulated inflation continues to erode the purchasing power of wages and pensions, and the feeling on the street is that prices are rising much faster than income.

The hardest part is that there are those who end up getting used to it.

A few years ago, finding a pound of rice for 360 pesos would have seemed absurd. Today, many people read that price, sigh, and hand their bag to the vendor. Our capacity for astonishment is also diminishing, our skin getting thicker in the face of everyday absurdity.

Perhaps it is this that the most worrying: inflation doesn’t just make food more expensive. It also erodes expectations, forces people to forgo nutritious foods, reduces portion sizes, and turns every trip to the market into a mathematical exercise in survival.

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Cuban Professor Alina Bárbara López Announces She Will Expand Her Protests Following Her Detention This Saturday

The professor denounced that her double arrest was a “kidnapping with no other possible interpretation.”

Alina Bárbara López has an open criminal case for “assault,” “contempt,” and “disobedience.” / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, July 19, 2026 – Cuban professor and activist Alina Bárbara López Hernández announced the start of new protest actions after being detained twice this Saturday in Matanzas while attempting to carry out her peaceful demonstration held on the 18th of every month, as part of International Nelson Mandela Day. Through Facebook, the historian recounted what happened during the day and described the second arrest as “surreal” and a “kidnapping with no other possible interpretation.”

In the post, which she uploaded at night, hours after relatives, friends, and organizations reported her temporary disappearance during her first detention, López Hernández recounted that she was intercepted near the place where a police patrol usually waits for her and was taken to a police station, where she remained for five hours.

The professor explained that an investigating officer informed her that she would be issued a warning report for “violating the precautionary measure of house arrest” imposed as part of the criminal proceedings she faces alongside sociologist Jenny Pantoja. The academic said she refused to sign the document.

After being released, she once again tried to head to the park where she holds her monthly protests. “Half a block before arriving, the patrol car that has been guarding the Provincial Party headquarters full time since the events in Morón was alerted by a plainclothes State Security agent, and they were ordered to arrest me again,” she continue reading

recounted.

The very officer who had processed the warning report “was astonished” to see her detained again

Upon returning to the police station, she said, the same officer who had processed the warning report “was astonished” to see her detained again. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Ask the patrol officers who brought me,” López Hernández replied. The officers later told her that she had to wait for someone from Counterintelligence who was going to “talk” with her, a meeting that, according to her, never took place. “I sat in the station lobby watching people who were victims of transfer scams and the theft of a solar lamp come in to file complaints,” she recounted.

“After about an hour, I said to her: ‘No one is coming to talk to me because the officers who give you your orders are cowards who don’t dare show their faces.’” Shortly afterward, the officer let her go: “Leave, I’m not going to keep you detained any longer.”

“The house arrest measure under case 40 serves them whenever it is convenient to detain me. To them, I am an object. And that’s not going to happen,” the activist emphasized in her message. The investigation López Hernández referred to is a criminal case the regime is pursuing against her and Jenny Pantoja on charges including “assault,” “contempt,” and “disobedience.” Prosecutors have requested four years in prison for López and three for Pantoja, but the trial, initially announced for last January, was postponed and has not taken place.

Prosecutors have requested four years in prison for López and three for Pantoja

In response, the professor announced a new phase of mobilizations. “I am going to begin nonviolent protests at the Municipal Court, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Party, the Government, and the State Security Operations headquarters. That trial will take place one way or another. They are going to put a free woman on trial, before, during, and after the trial,” she emphasized.

“They don’t want Jenny and me in prison because they would have to pay a high political cost, or perhaps they hope that if they keep pressuring us, we will also agree to leave Cuba. I can’t speak for Jenny, but I repeat to them: ‘If we have to suffer, we’ll suffer together, but from inside here,’” she warned at the end of her message.

So far in 2026, the activist has been systematically detained every time she has attempted to carry out her monthly protest: 12 hours in February, nearly 10 in April, and another 10 hours this past June.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“I’m Here To Continue Putting My Life on the Line”: Otero Alcántara Experiences His First Hours of Freedom After Leaving Cuba

Newly arrived in the US, the artist reconstructed a broken Virgin Mary statue he brought from the island and stated that Maykel ‘Osorbo’ would be in Miami “very soon” as well.

At the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami, Otero Alcántara restores a broken image of the Virgin Mary as a symbol of Cuba’s reconstruction. / Telemundo 51

14ymedio, Madrid, July 19, 2026 — Just an hour after landing in Miami, USA, Cuban artist and former political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara transformed his first act of freedom into a “spiritual and political” performance. At the Hermitage of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, before dozens of members of the exile community, journalists, and activists, he led an event to collectively reconstruct a broken image of Our Lady of Charity that he had brought from Cuba and presented as a metaphor for the “wounds” of the island, the exile community, and himself.

Faced with a barrage of questions from the press, Otero Alcántara repeatedly emphasized the same point: “What I want is to work. I’m here to work: every minute I waste is another minute of the dictatorship.”

Before beginning, he thanked the exile community for their support and dedicated a few words to the political prisoners who remain on the island, especially the rapper Maykel Osorbo Castillo Pérez, also a member of the San Isidro Movement. Regarding the musician, he stated that he would be in Miami “soon.” According to his contacts at the U.S. Embassy, the artist could arrive in that country “in less than a month,” although he clarified that he couldn’t guarantee it. “Maykel is a survivor and a fighter, and if I survived, he’ll be alright, as far as possible.” continue reading

Regarding ‘Osorbo’, he stated that he would also be in Miami “very soon.” According to his contacts at the US Embassy, the artist could arrive in that country “in less than a month.”

While applying glue to the fragments of the image, Otero Alcántara answered journalists’ questions. The artist reiterated that he will continue using art as a tool for political transformation: “There is a type of art that has the power to change things: a song changed things, a performance changed things,” he said, alluding to Patria y Vida and his own artistic actions on the island. But he insists that commitment is necessary, that art must be more than “a painting on the wall.” “I put my skin on the line, and I’m here to continue putting my skin on the line.”

He also sent a message to those who remain in Cuba. “We must continue fighting for freedoms, because it is possible.” Otero Alcántara maintained that “we must know what we are fighting for. We didn’t leave for chicken, for oil, or anything like that. We left demanding freedom, and freedom will bring all of that.”

The activist also claimed to have spoken with US Embassy officials about the situation of Cuban political prisoners. “They are putting pressure on,” he said, though he insisted that “to get them all out, the dictatorship must
be overthrown,” because “as long as the dictatorship exists, there will be political prisoners.”

“We need to know what we’re fighting for. We’re not out here for chicken, oil, or anything like that. We’re out here demanding freedom, and freedom will bring all of that.”

When asked about his time in prison, he said he felt “mentally healthier” thanks, in part, he said, to the international pressure exerted during those years. He explained that prison authorities allowed him to paint because they knew that this activity “kept him alive,” and he expressed his confidence in having been able to smuggle most of the artwork he created in prison out of the country.

He also announced that he is preparing a public exhibition of the more than 4,000 paintings he created during his imprisonment and managed to bring with him. He plans to hold an event where, as he unpacks them, he will talk about how he conceived them. “I’m going to keep making art; I have a lot of ideas in my head. All the works I’m bringing are about the feeling of confinement.”

Regarding the reconstruction of the Virgin of Charity statue, Otero Alcántara explained that it represents a meeting point for Cubans, transcending political or personal differences. “We are all broken,” he stated, alluding to families separated by exile and the consequences of repression. “The Virgin doesn’t restore herself. She is the culmination of all our collective energy.” He also maintained that spirituality is a space where “straight people, gay people, white people, black people, government supporters, dictators, State Security, opposition members, Mambises, and we, the artists,” all converge.

Otero Alcántara asserts that commitment is essential, that art must be more than just “a painting on the wall.” “I put my heart and soul on the line, and I’m here to continue putting my heart and soul on the line.”

While the performance was underway and many friends approached to embrace Otero Alcántara and celebrate his freedom, slogans such as “Patria y Vida” [Homeland and Life], “Down with the dictatorship,” and “Long live free Cuba!” were chanted. In addition, those present sang the Cuban national anthem.

The arrival of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara in the United States generated immediate reactions both within and outside the Cuban exile community. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed him with a statement declaring: “Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara faced years of repression and inhumane conditions under the Castro regime. His courage in appearing with the Cuban flag during ‘Patria y Vida,’ the anthem of freedom, inspired millions. It is a privilege to welcome him to the United States as a hero of the Cuban cause.” Rubio also called for the release of rapper Maykel Osorbo and the rest of the Cuban political prisoners, and reiterated the need for free elections on the island.

Republican Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, for his part, maintained that Otero Alcántara and other opposition members “risked everything for the freedom of the Cuban people,” and reiterated his support for those who remain imprisoned for political reasons.

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Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara Arrives in Miami in Forced Exile, After 11 Days of His Whereabouts Unknown

The artist was taken by the political police to Havana’s José Martí International Airport.

Otero Alcántara after arriving in Miami on July 18, 2026. / 14ymedio

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, artist and leader of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), who State Security kept in whereabouts unknown for 11 days, arrived in Miami this Saturday, one day after the United States granted him special permission (parole). A crowd of friends and supporters awaited him at the airport and greeted him by singing the Cuban national anthem.

In his first statements to the press, the artist recalled that “right now Maykel Osorbo is in prison” and asked the exile community in Miami, Cubans elsewhere, “Donald Trump,” “all those who can help us, please contribute to making Cuba free,” concluding: “that one minute of work is one minute less of dictatorship.”

After learning that the political prisoner had boarded a flight from Havana, the artist’s loved ones reported on social media that during his time in the Guanajay maximum-security prison, he “survived in an environment that deprived him of his freedom for political reasons, prevented him from fully developing his work, and separated him from the people he loves.” The regime’s repression did not extinguish Otero Alcántara’s fighting spirit: “Today he arrives with the profound desire to live again, resume his creative projects, and continue working for the freedom of Cuba.”

They also announced that, upon his arrival in Miami, the artist will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity “to leave an offering of thanksgiving.” Otero Alcántara, they explained, “brings with him from Cuba a broken Virgin. Like many of us. Like Cuba. It is a gesture that invites us to gather the fragments, to piece together what has been broken, and to believe that it is still possible to continue reading

heal and recover a country that has been taken hostage.”

Right now Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is flying to Miami International Airport, on flight AA2706. el aeropuerto internacional de Miami, en el vuelo AA2706. Right now ¡Luis Manuel está libre! Date: July 18 2026….

The Cuban state media was quick to report the artist’s departure, and in an article describing him as “the mercenary Washington is looking for,” asserts that Otero Alcántara has “a criminal record, not a record of conscience,” adding that “he is neither a political opponent nor a human rights defender. He is a common criminal, convicted by the Cuban justice system for crimes defined in our laws: contempt, public disorder, and desecration of national symbols.”

Otero Alcántara was taken by the political police to Havana’s José Martí International Airport in an escort similar to that provided to opposition figures José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Robles, “the young man with the flag,” both of whom were also released in exchange for accepting exile. In the case of the MSI leader, arrested on July 11, 2021—before he could participate in the massive demonstrations of that day—and sentenced to five years for the crimes of desecrating national symbols, contempt, and public disorder, he completed his sentence on July 9. However, by then, his family and friends did not know his whereabouts.

Two days earlier, it was reported that the artist had been taken from the maximum-security prison in Guanajay, in the province of Artemisa, to an unknown destination. On July 9th, he contacted his friend Anamely Ramos, an art historian in exile and also a member of the MSI. According to a post by the activist herself on social media, Otero Alcántara called her “from a State Security cell phone, an unknown number, and the call was on speakerphone.”

When asked how he was, the artist replied “fine,” Ramos said, “with that tone we use to indicate that we’re doing as well as can be expected, given the circumstances.” He couldn’t answer the second question: “Where are you?”

The activist explained that the parole request for Alcántara to travel to the United States was “still in process” and that the artist would be “in that unknown location until it is resolved.” According to a U.S. official who spoke to 14ymedio on condition of anonymity, by confining Otero Alcántara after he had served his sentence, the Havana regime intended to “turn the tables on Washington and make it seem as though the artist was still detained due to the Trump Administration’s delay.”

His case, along with that of rapper Maykel Castillo Osorbo, became one of the emblems of the repression after 11J.

Years ago, both expressed their willingness to accept “prison in exile,” but at no point did they participate in the releases carried out by the regime.

Three days after Otero Alcántara’s release, Castillo was transferred to the Guanajay prison from Kilo 8, in Pinar del Río, where he was serving his sentence, in his case nine years.

Despite being arrested at different times, and not on April 4, 2021, the date of the events for which the regime accused Otero Alcántara, and May 18 of the same year for Osorbo, both Cuban artists share the same prosecution file, which is yet another example of the arbitrariness of revolutionary justice.

Declared prisoners of conscience by various international organizations, both have received numerous awards during their years in prison for their fight for human rights in Cuba. The most recent was the 2026 Democracy Award, granted by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) last June.

They have also carried out several hunger strikes at different times and have denounced the prison conditions they endured. Years ago, both expressed their willingness to accept the “prison for exile” exchange, but at no point did they participate in the releases carried out by the Cuban regime through agreements with the Vatican, one in January 2025 , days before the end of Joe Biden’s presidency, and another last March .

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Luis Goytisolo and the End of the Cuban Spell

The Spanish writer understood in 1971 that the imprisonment of Heberto Padilla was not an isolated mistake, but proof of the Revolution’s authoritarian drift.

Luis Goytisolo, in a 2017 photograph. / EFE/Luca Piergiovanni

14ymedio, Noemí Herrera, Miami, July 18, 2026 – The death of Luis Goytisolo, who passed away this week at the age of 91, invites readers to revisit a monumental body of work such as Antagonía, one of the greatest achievements of 20th-century Spanish-language fiction. An experimental writer, member of the Royal Spanish Academy, and a pioneer of contemporary narrative, Goytisolo leaves behind a literary legacy of enormous significance. But from Cuba, it is also worth remembering another aspect of his life, less frequently mentioned in obituaries and yet essential to understanding the intellectual history of the second half of the 20th century.

Luis Goytisolo was one of the writers who helped dismantle the immense moral prestige that the Cuban Revolution had accumulated among the European left. He was not the only one, nor even the most visible. But he was there when part of the intellectual community decided that the time had come to stop justifying the unjustifiable. His background included coming from a family of businessmen of Basque origin who made their way in Cuba, the Island that would once again cross his path.

Luis, by contrast, cultivated a more reserved profile, focused on literature and less inclined toward public exposure

It is important to distinguish between the brothers. Juan Goytisolo occupied a singular place in Spanish literature for decades and became a much better-known public figure internationally, especially because of his constant confrontation with the Franco regime and his cosmopolitan life. Luis, by contrast, cultivated a more reserved profile, focused on literature and less inclined toward public exposure. That difference in temperament has often led people to confuse the two when discussing the so-called Padilla Affair. However, both actively participated in the protest that permanently changed the relationship between much of the European intellectual community and Fidel Castro’s continue reading

regime.

Until 1971, the Cuban Revolution enjoyed extraordinary prestige within Western cultural circles. The romantic image of the Sierra Maestra continued to captivate writers, philosophers, and artists who saw Cuba as an ethical alternative to capitalism and the Latin American dictatorships. The Island was the laboratory where many wanted to believe a form of socialism different from the Soviet model could be built.

The imprisonment of poet Heberto Padilla shattered that illusion.

His “crime” had been writing uncomfortable verses and expressing criticism of the revolutionary bureaucracy. His arrest, followed by that humiliating public confession at the headquarters of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac), a scene that evoked the Stalinist show trials, caused a moral earthquake among those who still defended the Cuban Government.

The Goytisolo brothers also participated in drafting a second letter, far more forceful, which openly denounced the regime’s authoritarian drift

It was then that the first open letter addressed to Fidel Castro and published by Le Monde appeared. Among its organizers and signatories were Juan and Luis Goytisolo, together with such prominent figures as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Mario Vargas Llosa, Susan Sontag, Alberto Moravia, Carlos Fuentes, and Octavio Paz. They called for the poet’s release and warned that imprisoning a writer for expressing his ideas was incompatible with the emancipatory project that Cuba claimed to represent.

Padilla’s release resolved nothing. On the contrary. The spectacle of his public self-criticism deepened the scandal. That forced confession, in which the poet accused himself and denounced colleagues and friends, was far too reminiscent of the old Moscow trials. The Goytisolo brothers also participated in drafting a second letter, far more forceful, which openly denounced the regime’s authoritarian drift. For many cultural historians, that second document marks the true breaking point between the Cuban Revolution and a fundamental part of the Western democratic intellectual community.

Fidel Castro’s reaction was as predictable as it was revealing. The signatories ceased to be fellow travelers and became traitors, agents of imperialism, or victims of bourgeois manipulation. Cuba’s doors began to close to many of them. The so-called “Five-Year Gray Period” consolidated a cultural policy based on suspicion, ideological surveillance, and political obedience.

He was a writer who understood that there comes a moment when silence ceases to be a form of prudence and becomes a form of complicity

For decades, official propaganda attempted to minimize that rupture. It portrayed the Padilla Affair as a foreign conspiracy and turned critical intellectuals into personal enemies of the Revolution. Yet the damage was irreversible. Not because Cuba lost a handful of prestigious visitors, but because it lost something far more difficult to recover: the moral authority that had captivated much of the international progressive intelligentsia.

It is significant that Luis Goytisolo did not build a testimonial monument around that episode. He remained, above all, a novelist. He continued writing, experimenting with narrative forms, and producing a body of work whose summit is Antagonía, that extraordinary exploration of consciousness and of the very act of writing, which occupies a privileged place in contemporary Spanish literature.

Perhaps that is precisely why his role in that rupture deserves to be remembered today. He was not a professional activist or a permanent polemicist. He was a writer who understood that there comes a moment when silence ceases to be a form of prudence and becomes a form of complicity.

Today, more than half a century after the Padilla Affair, it is difficult to imagine the impact of those letters. They did not change the fate of the Cuban Revolution. Nor did they prevent the consolidation of the cultural apparatus that for decades punished dissent. But they did transform something equally important: they brought innocence to an end. After 1971, it was no longer possible to claim that no one knew. The spell had been broken. And Luis Goytisolo, together with his brother Juan and so many others, helped break it.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“Ice Cold,” Cuba’s New Luxury

In a Havana battered by power outages lasting more than 24 hours, offering a chilled drink has become a commercial oasis.

Store signs used to advertise “special offers,” “combos,” or “new arrivals.” Now, simply writing “ice cold” is enough to attract customers. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, July 17, 2026 – By mid-morning, the stretch of Ayestarán where the Choco Alexo pastry shop is located looks like an island in the middle of the desert. While most businesses in the neighborhood have kept their refrigerators turned off after more than 24 hours without electricity, a handwritten sign hangs above the entrance with a message that would have seemed unnecessary just a few years ago: “Assorted beverages, ice cold.”

It does not advertise a sale or a discount. It promises something far scarcer.

In Cuba, where endless blackouts have become the norm, a cold drink has become an everyday luxury. What was once an insignificant detail—a beer just taken out of the refrigerator, a soft drink with condensation covering the bottle, or a glass of water with ice—is now reason enough to stop in front of a store and ask whether anything cold is still available.

Buying a package of chicken quarters means feeling the plastic wrapping in several places to check whether the meat is still firm or has already begun to thaw, releasing the sticky liquid that eventually soaks the bag and your hands. The same happens with hot dogs, hamburgers, and ground meat, not to mention ice cream. continue reading

Owners calculate every minute their refrigerators can run so they do not drain their batteries or run out of fuel for their generators

In many privately owned cafés, coffee is still served hot because it only takes a gas stove to prepare it, but ordering a soft drink that is not at room temperature has become almost an act of optimism. Owners carefully calculate every minute their refrigerators can operate so they do not exhaust their batteries or generator fuel. Others have simply given up offering products that need to be kept cold.

The shortages have even changed the language of advertising. Store signs used to promote “special offers,” “combos,” or “new arrivals.” Now, simply writing “ice cold” is enough to draw customers. What is extraordinary is no longer the product itself, but the temperature at which it has managed to stay.

The energy crisis has literally made everyday life hotter.

In another neighborhood, far from Ayestarán Street, a group of boys had just finished a game of street soccer under the blazing sun. Sweaty, with their shirts clinging to their bodies and their knees covered in dust, one of the children shouted loudly enough for the whole block to hear: “I want a little cup of water with ice!” He was not asking for an imported soft drink, a malt beverage, or an energy drink. Just water. Water with ice. He said it with such heartbreaking longing that several people looked up from their front porches.

No one answered. Everyone knew that such a modest wish could be just as difficult to fulfill as any other luxury.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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