Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

In Cuba, Abortions Are Almost Equal to Births, and Contraceptives Are Still in Short Supply

Official statistics reveal a 77% drop in preventive detection of cervical cancer.

The rate is 94.8 abortions per 100 live births, the highest since 1986. / Cubadebate / Irene Pérez

14ymedio, Havana, October 30, 2026 / In a country where fewer and fewer children are being born, abortions are nearing the number of live births. Cuba registered 64,850 abortions in 2025, compared to 68,064 live births. The ratio is 94.8 abortions per 100 live births, the highest since 1986, according to the new Statistical Yearbook of Health from the Ministry of Public Health. The official figures come amid a prolonged shortage of contraceptives, forcing many women to resort to the informal market or products sent by relatives from abroad.

The situation exacerbates a demographic crisis of exceptional proportions in Latin America. Cuba lost 313,414 inhabitants during 2025, around 3.2% of its population, ending the year with just 9.4 million residents. Although emigration remains the primary cause of this loss, deaths (136,214 people) are nearly twice the number of births. The country is emptying not only because of those who leave, but also because far more Cubans are dying than are being born.

In 2025, 3,294 fewer children were born than the previous year, which is why the government has insisted on the need to stimulate the birth rate. Furthermore, condoms, birth control pills, and other family planning methods have been in short supply at state-run pharmacies for years, but this has not stopped the decline in births: abortions remain practically at the same levels as in 2024, while their proportion relative to live births continues to rise. continue reading

In March 2026, the official press warned of an increase in sexually transmitted infections in Sancti Spíritus, especially among young people.

The shortage is not a recent complaint. Back in 2023, Dr. Deglis Luciano, head of the Sexually Transmitted Infections Program in Guantánamo, acknowledged that the lack of condoms, pills, and injections was contributing to unwanted pregnancies and an increase in sexually transmitted infections. At that time, an emergency contraceptive pill could cost between 700 and 900 pesos on the black market. Currently, on buy-and-sell websites like Revolico, it is advertised for up to 1,800 pesos.

In March 2026, the official press reported an increase in sexually transmitted infections in Sancti Spíritus, especially among young people, and pointed to the lack of condoms in the healthcare system as one of the factors exacerbating the situation. This shortage thus affects both the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and protection against HIV and other diseases.

The government is attempting to respond with new measures. In May of this year, Resolution 174/2025 of the Ministry of Health came into effect, ordering that the distribution of contraceptives to adolescents be prioritized, especially in areas with higher birth rates among that age group. However, a regulation on paper alone does not guarantee that the products will reach pharmacies and clinics. The authorities themselves have acknowledged the need to rely on international organizations to bolster the supply.

The lack of options to prevent pregnancy is therefore a problem that transcends the economic difficulties of each family.

The crisis has also exposed the existence of clandestine abortions, despite the fact that the procedure is legal and free in Cuban hospitals. In April 2024, the director of the Hijas de Galicia Hospital in Havana reported that four women had arrived at the emergency room with severe hemorrhaging after terminating their pregnancies outside of healthcare facilities. The doctor denounced the irregular use of misoprostol, a drug used to induce abortions, and the existence of individuals charging for these procedures. There are no publicly available figures to determine the current extent of these practices.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which has supplied contraceptives to Cuba through cooperation programs, also recognizes the persistence of unwanted pregnancies and high abortion rates, particularly among younger women. The lack of options for preventing pregnancy is therefore a problem that transcends the economic difficulties faced by each family.

Despite this, the new health yearbook continues to use 2019 data to report on contraceptive use by province. It does not offer updated figures on how many women use each method, which ones have stopped receiving them, or how their availability has changed during the worst years of the economic crisis. This omission is striking in a publication that does accurately record abortions.

Far from recovering after the pandemic, the program continues to decline and has reached its lowest figure since 1971

The deteriorationin the attention to reproductive healthcare is also reflected in the plummeting number of Pap smears, used to detect lesions that can develop into cervical cancer. According to the same yearbook, the number of women with up-to-date Pap smears fell from 871,196 in 2018 to just 197,457 in 2025, a drop of 77.3%. Far from recovering after the pandemic, the program continues to decline and has reached its lowest level since 1971.

The situation is particularly worrying among women aged 40 and over, a group for whom the Ministry records only 40.4 updated Pap smears per 1,000 women. At the same time, deaths from cervical cancer increased from 479 in 2024 to 506 in 2025. Both trends highlight the need to examine what is happening with prevention and early diagnosis.

In 2025, with international support, Cuba began vaccinating girls against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer. This measure represents progress, but it does not replace screening tests for adult women. Ensuring reproductive health involves more than simply asking Cuban women to have more children; it also means empowering them to decide when to have children and avoiding that preventable or treatable diseases cost them their lives.

______________________

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.

“If You Don’t Have Money, You Starve to Death”: The Cuba Found by the ‘Wall Street Journal’

The American newspaper returns to the Island and gathers the testimonies of retirees, entrepreneurs, and merchants

Fernando Pérez Hernández is an industrial engineer who sells cigarettes and coffee to people waiting in line. / WSJ/ Screenshot

14ymdio, Madrid, October 29, 2026 / “We went to Cuba to see how the fuel crisis is forcing Havana to open its economy.” That is how the Wall Street Journal headlined the report published Wednesday by two of its reporters, who received press visas—one of the few the Cuban regime issues. The newspaper hadn’t set foot on the island since the thaw in relations, and its presence is part of the government’s efforts in recent months to present its narrative to the American public.

The result of this trip is, for now, a video of just over 12 minutes that speaks of an emerging private sector that contrasts with an impoverished population, one that lacks family support and assistance from abroad. “We saw a Cuba growing at two speeds,” they explain.

“If you don’t have money, you starve,” summarizes Bárbara López Chávez, a retired woman interviewed for this story. The pensioner says she receives about 10,000 pesos between her pension and a small cleaning job, an amount the media calculates at $13 a month, although according to the informal exchange rate this Thursday, it’s more like $11.50.

“But nothing arrives at the bodega, my dear.”

When the reporter asks López Chávez how she can live like this and when things started getting so bad, she is emphatic: “After Fidel died, things got really bad.” It is at this moment that Yindira Cerqueda, the administrator of the soup kitchen the woman has to rely on, intercepts her. Taking her by the shoulder, Cerqueda condescendingly reprimands her: “Well, but the Revolution takes care of you,” she replies, adding that thanks to these services they are able to eat. The retiree, with a sour expression, complains: “But nothing ever arrives at the bodega [ration store], my dear,” she says, although she eventually concedes that the soup kitchen is at least a relief. continue reading

The dialogue, which takes place in the last two minutes of the video, undermines the most optimistic part of the report, which points out the opportunity that the timid opening may represent for the private sector.

The first interviewee is Oscar Fernández, who aspired to become Cuba’s largest exporter of dried fruit but has seen his plans “thwarted by US sanctions and the island’s economic collapse.” This entrepreneur explains that he began building a factory on land leased by the government, but the construction should have been finished a year ago, and now all that remains is six months without electricity and work progressing at a snail’s pace.

“In this way, what was a state-run establishment is, in fact, becoming a private business.”

Fernández is optimistic about the new measures in the Cuban economy—although he affirms that the authorities took them because there was no other option—and is confident that things will get even better. “Of course it’s going to change. We’ll be the owners of this whole company. I know it; I’m certain that things are changing. Big changes, a complete turnaround,” he maintains.

The reporter also visits a bakery that was formerly state-run but is now privately owned, and emphasizes that these types of businesses create opportunities that didn’t exist before. “About two weeks ago, the state stopped supplying the ingredients for making bread. People used to buy it for one peso a loaf and could only take one. Instead of closing, the manager decided to get the supplies himself and continue selling bread, now at 50 pesos a loaf, but allowing customers to buy as much as they want. In this way, what was a state-run establishment is, in effect, becoming a private business,” he explains.

The video features Foreign Investment Minister Carlos Luis Jorge Méndez, who smiles when asked about fuel imports from the US. “It’s ironic, yes,” he says. “It turns out that no one can sell fuel to Cuba, and the little fuel we’ve been able to receive comes from the US. And one can’t help but think that it’s a way of subjecting us to dependency. We find it completely unacceptable,” he argues. The official also admits that all kinds of goods are purchased from the neighboring country, but insists that it’s not done following standard international trade procedures—since payment is required in advance and in cash, in accordance with the embargo.

“Until now we have operated in a kind of bubble where we competed alone against state-owned companies, which gave us great advantages.”

Also of interest is the participation of Oniel Díaz Castellanos, from the consulting firm Auge, who maintains that it is common for him to receive “many requests from companies in South Florida, some of them owned by Cuban Americans, who saw a huge opportunity to supply the private sector. And that is happening on a large scale.”

Asked if the normalization of relations in the future will generate uncertainty among the island’s business leaders, the specialist smiles. “The most intelligent in the private sector do have that fear. Until now, we’ve operated in a kind of bubble where we competed alone against state-owned enterprises, which gave us significant advantages. We’ll have to compete with new actors who will arrive with more experience, greater resources, and the intention of quickly seizing the country’s opportunities,” he argues.

The Wall Street Journal reporter also touches on the informal sector. On the street, in a bank line, he encounters Fernando Pérez Hernández, an industrial engineer who sells cigarettes and coffee to those waiting in line. On a good day, he can make $10. “I’m earning here in a day what I could earn in a month with the government,” he says, to the journalist’s astonishment. The vendor maintains that he lacks the savings to start a small business and formalize his work, but he surprises when asked about the current economic liberalization. “I fear that the essence of the project will be lost.” “What is that?” the reporter inquires. “Social welfare,” he retorts.

______________________

Some Twenty Women and Children Block 100th Street in Havana to Demand Water and Electricity

After more than 30 hours of blackout, protesters closed one of the main access roads to the Cuban capital.

“”We’d been without power for over 30 hours and people couldn’t take it anymore.” / Screenshot / Facebook / Cántalo TV

14ymedio, Havana, October 30, 2026 / A group of women, accompanied by their children, staged a peaceful protest this Thursday on 100th Street in Havana’s Boyeros municipality, demanding the restoration of electricity and water service. The demonstration disrupted traffic on one side of this important avenue, used daily by cargo trucks and numerous cars entering and leaving the capital.

The participants in the protest came out from several nearby buildings, having endured more than 30 hours without electricity and months of unreliable water service, and marched along Vento Street until they reached 100th Street, near Perla. Once on the roadway, several children sat down, forming a line that blocked traffic, while the women stood beside them.

The images, captured in videos and photos obtained by 14ymedio, show a large group of protesters in the middle of a public street, with cars stopped or searching for alternative routes. The images show approximately twenty people, including women and children.

“We’d been without power for over 30 hours and people couldn’t take it anymore,” a resident of an apartment building who participated in the protest posted on social media. The woman says the situation has become especially difficult due to problems with the water supply and the poor sanitary conditions in the homes. continue reading

She lamented: “At home, my husband and daughter have a virus that seems to be related to the poor water quality, because several neighbors have the same symptoms. The little water we get is of terrible quality.”

The area around Perla and 100th Street is dotted with five-story apartment buildings, along with other taller structures. This high concentration of residents increases the demand for water, making every pumping interruption an additional hardship for those living on the upper floors.

The choice of location for the protest is also significant. 100th Street is one of the main access routes to Havana from the southwest and a common corridor for transporting goods.

The female protagonism in these demonstrations is also related to the weight that falls on Cuban women in domestic and caregiving tasks.

The demonstration also comes amid a week of prolonged blackouts in the capital, with some circuits having gone more than 40 hours without electricity. Havana Water Company acknowledged that the power outages on the 28th and 29th affected its main water sources, causing widespread delays in distribution.

This is not the first time mothers have led protests in Havana over basic services. In July 2025, a dozen women with their children blocked a street in Regla after nearly four months without water. In September of that same year, other mothers sat with their young children and empty containers on Monte Street . More recently, in September 2026, women and children closed a road in Arroyo Naranjo after several days without water and electricity.

The prominence of women in these demonstrations is also linked to the heavy burden of domestic and caregiving responsibilities placed on Cuban women. Obtaining water, preparing food, washing clothes, and caring for children, the sick, and the elderly becomes an exhausting task when essential services simultaneously fail. Furthermore, police repression against men who demonstrate in public tends to be more aggressive.

______________________

Mobile Phones Will Not Follow the Cuban Government’s Instructions to Maintain Daylight Saving Time

Users will have to change the clocks on their smartphones manually.

Until the manufacturer’s update arrives, the changes will have to be made manually. / X/Etecsa

14ymedio, Madrid, October 30, 2026 – When Cubans wake up this Sunday, the time displayed on their mobile phones will be one hour behind the official time. The Government’s decision to maintain daylight saving time came too late for the technology, and most users who have the automatic time option enabled by default will have to make a manual adjustment on their phones.

The official media have warned that smartphones have a manufacturer’s instruction based on historical data and programmed for each country, so Cuba’s will be updated on November 1 from UTC-4 to UTC-5, regardless of the political decision. Until the manufacturer updates the tzdata rule, or IANA time zone database, the phone will follow the instruction stored in its system.

In this situation, the authorities remind users that the first step is to check whether the phone has updated as expected. If it has, they should go to the Date and Time section, usually found under Settings > System. From there, they must manually enter the time established by the Government (UTC-4). Afterward, it is advisable to make sure the “automatic time” function remains enabled, since manufacturers are expected to update the database soon, although this will have to be verified over time. continue reading

Afterward, it is advisable to make sure the “automatic time” function remains enabled, since manufacturers are expected to update the database soon, although this will have to be verified over time

Last week, the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security agreed that electricity consumption could be reduced by approximately 126 megawatts if daylight saving time were maintained at least until November of next year. In addition, it was decided to delay the start time for schools and workplaces by half an hour between November 1, 2026, and March 14, 2027, the period during which winter time would normally have been in effect.

According to the authorities, 76 MW of the projected savings would come from making better use of natural light, while the remaining 50 MW are attributed to the photovoltaic solar power available during those hours. However, no details have been provided about how these calculations were made.

The decision comes at a very critical time for power generation, with the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the country, out of service because of a series of breakdowns even more extensive than usual at this major facility. In any case, it is not the only cause of the situation. This Thursday, the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes thermoelectric plant in Cienfuegos also went offline because of a failure whose cause remains unknown.

Also out of service due to breakdowns are Unit 5 of the Mariel thermoelectric plant, Unit 1 of the Santa Cruz del Norte plant, Unit 2 of the Felton plant, and Units 3 and 6 of the Renté plant. Units 3 of Santa Cruz del Norte, 5 and 6 of Nuevitas, and 5 of Renté are undergoing maintenance.

This Thursday, the deficit was forecast to reach 1,910 megawatts during peak hours, as projected generation was only 910 MW, against peak demand of 2,820 MW. The blackouts no longer distinguish between regions, and the capital is experiencing very long hours without electricity. The 14ymedio newsroom is in this situation, having now endured 37 consecutive hours without power.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

Generation Y: The Story of a Country Told Through WhatsApp

Amid warnings that there will be no bread, gas leaks, blackouts, and deaths, a group of neighbors in a building writes the chronicle of a Cuba in ruins.

Each WhatsApp message is a chapter in an everyday novel where there’s no room for adjectives or embellishments. / 14ymedio

“There will be no bread tomorrow.” I read the phrase on my phone screen. It has the force of a judicial sentence. It needs no explanations, nor exclamation marks, not even emojis. In the WhatsApp group for our building, a complex of over a hundred apartments in Nuevo Vedado, bad news comes in the format of old-fashioned telegrams. Each message is a chapter in a daily novel where adjectives and embellishments have no place.

The group administrator is the only authorized narrator. The rest of us just read. The literature of our community is a monologue where the plot unfolds amidst news of breakups, shortages, and farewells.

“There will be bread tomorrow,” I see on an ordinary afternoon in the instant messaging thread. Every now and then, the chronicler surprises us with a hopeful twist. The bakery at the rationed market on Hidalgo Street finally has flour, and the news takes on the air of a major event. For a few seconds, I revel in such unexpected prosperity, but then I remember the small size and sour taste of that bread and temper my expectations. continue reading

Behind those words are the unlit stoves, the rice that never softens, and the neighborhood cafes with their pizzas still in the oven.

The next installment of this digital saga could arrive at any time. “Due to a break, the manufactured gas service will be interrupted.” Behind those words are the unlit stoves, the rice that never softens, and the neighborhood cafes with their pizzas still in the oven.

Our involuntary novelist also masters the apocalyptic genre. “There was a total blackout of the National Power System,” he reports at the stroke of noon. Sometimes the outage is partial. Only a part of the country is without power, and a sigh of relief sweeps through the building, as if darkness would admit degrees and we should console ourselves with the fact that this time the disaster wasn’t complete.

Between one interruption and the next, a different message occasionally appears. A neighbor has died. The tone changes, but not the brevity. Just a name and some information about the wake. That’s how we learn that someone with whom we share elevators, hallways, and complaints about the leaky roof that’s been dripping from the lobby entrance for decades has died.

I never delete the contents of this peculiar chat. It reminds me a lot of Dangerous Liaisons, that novel constructed through letters that reveal, amidst confidences and silences, the true relationships of a society. Our building also has its correspondence, although here no one is trying to seduce anyone. Our messages don’t uncover love intrigues, but rather the details of a nation disintegrating piece by piece.

Someday, when this era is the subject of archaeologists and doctoral theses, perhaps someone will find our WhatsApp thread. Then they won’t have to read official speeches or endless statistics. Scrolling through these notifications will be enough for them to understand how a country crumbles, while its inhabitants receive, day after day, the news of a new loss.

______________________

Oil Tankers Loaded With Russian Diesel Could Head to Cuba Instead of the United States

Lawmakers from both parties point out that a congressional resolution adopted in 2022 prohibits the importation of hydrocarbons from Russia.

The arrival of the Agioi Fanendes, which departed Primorsk on October 22, was scheduled for November 7. / Marine Traffic

14ymedio, Madrid, October 29, 2026 – The oil tanker Agioi Fanendes, which was carrying 40,000 tons of Russian diesel fuel to the U.S., no longer lists New York as its destination and appears to be stranded while awaiting orders. The surprising situation has led the energy-focused website Oilprices.com to speculate that the product could end up in Cuba.

The arrival of the Maltese-flagged tanker, which departed Primorsk on October 22, was scheduled for November 7, but after briefly passing through Skagen, Denmark, on October 26, it was left without a declared port of destination. Its shipment was part of an agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, who discussed the situation in a phone call on October 9.

That conversation, which was very poorly received by European allies and Ukraine, among other reasons because it bypassed sanctions on Russian energy sources, established that Russia would send more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to U.S. and global markets, another 500,000 tons during November, and 1,000,000 tons thereafter. continue reading

On October 27, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut demanded that the tanker turn around because it was violating federal law

The plan was intended to alleviate rising fuel prices, which stood at $102.78 in the U.S. this Wednesday (Texas crude oil per barrel). The war in the Middle East has driven gasoline prices to levels that make everyday life difficult for American citizens and threatens to seriously hurt Republicans in the midterm elections scheduled for November 3, hence Trump’s agreement with Putin.

On October 27, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut demanded that the tanker turn around because it was violating federal law. He addressed his demand directly to Thanassis Martinos, managing director of the tanker’s owner, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime. The senator added that the company should refrain from any future agreements to send Russian diesel to a U.S. port.

According to Blumenthal, the 2022 Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act prohibits this type of cargo, and its legal authority supersedes that of General License 135 issued by the Treasury Department, which authorizes transactions involving Russian diesel through April 7, 2027. “The president may have issued a license to facilitate this transaction, but only Congress can make it legally valid,” he wrote.

In his letter, the senator gave the company until October 31 to identify the seller, buyer, charterer, insurer, and terminal operator, as well as to disclose any other details received from the Treasury Department or another federal agency.

The outlet bases its argument on Donald Trump’s statement last March regarding the Anatoly Kolodkin, which brought 730,000 barrels of Russian crude oil to the Island without the president raising any objections

According to Oilprices, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has warned all parties involved, including port authorities in Houston, Corpus Christi, Beaumont, and New York/New Jersey, about the civil and criminal consequences of accepting this cargo.

But there are also two other oil tankers, the Leruo and the Talismán, transporting Russian diesel to the United States, with the added complication that both are subject to sanctions. Maritime data company Kpler puts the total cargo aboard the three vessels at 924,000 barrels. They would be joined by another vessel, not yet identified but announced by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, whose departure was scheduled for yesterday, Wednesday.

In the U.S., in addition to the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, there is the Graham Act, named after Republican Lindsey Graham, the late senator from South Carolina who championed it. This law imposed tariffs of 500% on Russian imports and 100% on countries purchasing both oil and gas from Moscow, particularly its main buyers, which helped circumvent sanctions.

The objective of both laws was always to cut off Russia’s main source of funding for its war in Ukraine, but Trump has now not only provided relief through the authorized exemption but has also described the lawmakers who criticized him as “not serious people.”

According to Oilprices’ speculation, “with no declared destination, and with U.S. banks and ports having been warned, the Agioi Fanendes could be redirected to Cuba.” The outlet bases its argument on Donald Trump’s statement last March regarding the Anatoly Kolodkin, which brought 730,000 barrels of Russian crude oil to the Island without the president raising any objections. “They have to survive! I have no problem with it,” the U.S. president said, despite having signed an executive order preventing oil from reaching Cuba from any country.

That has been the only exception he has made, however, since the Sea Horse, a Hong Kong-flagged vessel carrying Russian oil, had to change course while discreetly heading toward the Island.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

U.S. Humanitarian Aid Reaches the Poorest Families in Guasimal, in Sancti Spíritus

A second shipment landed in Santa Clara with 1,400 food and hygiene kits that Cáritas will distribute in rural communities in Sancti Spíritus.

The director of Cáritas Santa Clara, Vanesa Hernández Toledo, received the supplies on the runway at Abel Santamaría Airport. / Diocese of Santa Clara

14ymedio, Madrid, October 29, 2026 – A second shipment of humanitarian aid from the United States Government arrived this Thursday at Abel Santamaría International Airport in Santa Clara, carrying 700 food kits and another 700 hygiene kits intended for poor families in Guasimal, a rural community in the municipality of Sancti Spíritus, in the province of the same name, according to information published by the Diocese of Santa Clara on its social media accounts. The aid will be delivered by the Catholic Church through Cáritas, as part of the $100 million assistance program announced by Washington last May.

The director of Cáritas Santa Clara, Vanesa Hernández Toledo, received the supplies on the airport runway. Bishop Arturo González Amador specified that the shipment is intended for the parish of La Purísima Concepción in Guasimal, where the Sisters of Jesús Verbo y Victima work. Although it belongs to Sancti Spíritus, this locality falls under the Diocese of Santa Clara, which encompasses Villa Clara and much of the neighboring province.

Bishop Arturo González Amador specified that the shipment is intended for the parish of La Purísima Concepción in Guasimal

The nuns will receive the supplies that same afternoon to distribute them among “the poorest families in the various towns within the parish territory,” with the assistance of Cáritas and local volunteers. The diocese stated that those responsible for the deliveries had already organized the work for the coming days. continue reading

González Amador drew attention to the difficulties facing an area “so geographically distant from urban centers” and urged those participating in the distribution to stop and attend to “the poor and those who suffer,” offering them “human closeness and assistance.” The bishopric did not specify how many families would receive the donations.

The first shipment to Santa Clara arrived on September 11, with a similar quantity of supplies intended for Quemado de Güines and Rancho Veloz, in Villa Clara. On that occasion, González Amador acknowledged that needs were far greater than the available resources and that only the most urgent cases could be addressed. He also warned that this was a one-time aid delivery, not a permanent social assistance program.

The shipments are part of the $100 million in humanitarian aid offered by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Of that amount, $60 million is being channeled through the Catholic Church, with the participation of Cáritas Cuba and the U.S. organization Catholic Relief Services. The remaining $40 million is allocated to independent humanitarian organizations.

The shipments are part of the $100 million in humanitarian aid offered by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio

The launch of the program was preceded by a confrontation between Washington and Havana. On May 8, when Rubio stated that the United States had offered the assistance and accused the Cuban Government of rejecting it, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez dismissed the announcement as a “fable” intended, according to him, to deceive both peoples.

Six days later, Havana was no longer denying the existence of the proposal but continued to question Washington’s intentions. Rodríguez then stated that Cuba was willing to study it, while describing the offer as “apparent generosity” and demanding that the assistance be provided without political conditions.

The United States stipulated that the donations be delivered directly to the population by religious and humanitarian organizations, without going through the Cuban authorities. Havana, for its part, has accused Washington of using the assistance for political purposes while maintaining sanctions that worsen the Island’s crisis.

The program began to be implemented in July, with a shipment intended for Havana. Since then, the dioceses of Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Camagüey, Ciego de Ávila, Pinar del Río, and Matanzas have also received supplies. The latter received a second shipment on October 22, while Pinar del Río received its shipment on the 27th, intended for the communities of Guanajay and Bahía Honda, in Artemisa, which belong to that diocese.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

The Floating Pier in Havana, a Project That Was Stillborn and Is Now Being Dismantled

Several young men are trying to pry loose the pier’s metal beams with hammers, probably to sell them as scrap metal.

The platform has lost practically all of its wooden decking, and the iron beams form an open grid over the water. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Darío Hernández, Havana, October 28, 2026 – The floating pier at the Alameda de Paula in Old Havana is a project that was stillborn. Inaugurated just eleven years ago as part of the restoration of the Old Havana waterfront, it began showing signs of damage shortly after opening to the public and today is an idle, pointless, floating skeleton. This Tuesday, while walking along Avenida del Puerto, 14ymedio saw several young men attempting to pry loose the metal beams with hammers, probably to sell them as scrap metal.

The platform has lost practically all of its wooden decking, and the iron beams form an open grid over the water. Several young men move among the supports and repeatedly strike the structure to detach the beams, even at the risk of falling through one of the numerous gaps.

Selling scrap metal, either to the Union of Raw Materials Recovery Companies or through informal channels, is an attractive business given the official purchase prices, which reach between 400 and 500 per kilogram of copper, depending on its quality.

At the entrance to the floating ruin, a sign belonging to the Avenida del Puerto Investment Group warns: “Access Prohibited” and “Pier Under Repair,” accompanied by the warning “Avoid Being Summoned.” Someone has scribbled on it with a black marker. The young men ignore it and concentrate on dismantling the structure, directly defying the sign.

The scene is reminiscent of the so-called “stone pickers” who, for decades, have dismantled the ruins of the Juraguá Nuclear Power Plant in Cienfuegos to extract all the reinforcing bars and usable materials from that great abortion of Castroist triumphalism. continue reading

The floating promenade was part of a renovation project for Avenida del Puerto promoted by the Office of the Historian of Havana during the final years of Eusebio Leal, now deceased. The aim was to restore Havana residents’ contact with a bay from which the city had been practically cut off for decades.

In November 2014, renovation work on Avenida del Puerto extended from the Muelle de Caballería to the San José warehouses, which had been converted into a commercial and cultural space. The surrounding area’s renovation also included the Alameda de Paula; the Emboque de Luz, which was the terminal for the small boats serving Regla and Casablanca; and the former Wood and Tobacco Warehouse, which had been transformed into a brewery.

Inaugurated in late 2015, the pier soon became a place to stroll at sunset, admire the bay, talk, fish, or enjoy the breeze. Couples even began placing padlocks on the railings as a symbol of eternal love, following a custom widespread on bridges in other cities, such as the Pont des Arts in Paris, where authorities banned the practice in 2015 because of the damage caused to the structure by the weight of the padlocks.

Deterioration began almost immediately after its inauguration in 2015. Less than a year later, the first damage appeared on the decking

But deterioration began almost from the start. By 2016, damage had already appeared on the decking. In 2019, architect Orlando Inclán, one of the designers of the project, acknowledged the problems affecting the installation to the official newspaper Tribuna de La Habana. “After the initial installation, many of the planks were replaced because the first batch did not meet the required quality standards, but the second one did,” he explained, identifying both the poor quality of that first shipment and damage caused by some visitors as reasons for the deterioration.

Inclán also admitted that there was no specific maintenance plan for the promenade. “It is certainly necessary now to provide maintenance for a structure that has been in intensive use for almost five years,” he warned. Even the railings, designed in stainless steel to prevent corrosion, needed attention, although at the time he believed the deterioration could still be reversed because relatively few sections were missing.

The promenade was closed in April 2021 because of the danger posed by its deterioration. A resident consulted by the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press said that he had not seen any repair work being carried out.

In 2024, several complaints described a structure with gaps, deteriorated railings, and signs of neglect. In August 2026, a photo report by OnCuba documented raised boards, light fixtures without cables, and dangerous sections, while other citizens raised the alarm about missing components and railings and appealed to the authorities. In recent weeks, videos have circulated on social media showing residents carrying away the boards that made up the structure’s decking.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

On Havana’s Monte Street, the Garbage Has the Right of Way

A dump that stretches for more than a block forces pedestrians to walk among tricycles and trucks.

En la esquina de Antón Recio, una montaña de desperdicios ha crecido tanto que ya se extiende por más de una cuadra y se ha adueñado de la vía pública. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 28 October 2026 / On Monte Street, one of Havana’s most popular avenues, a new road hierarchy has been established. Garbage has priority, followed by vehicles, and, if any space is left, pedestrians can use it. At the corner of Antón Recio, a mountain of waste has grown so large that it now stretches for more than a block and has taken over the public roadway, blocking passage along the sidewalk.

This Wednesday, the gigantic garbage dump reigned over the avenue. With its cardboard boxes, burst bags, plastic containers, papers, and pieces of old household appliances, the dump formed an irregular mountain range alongside the porticoes where the avenue’s commercial life once thrived. The accumulation of waste also covered part of the pavement, where electric tricycles, almendrones that serve as shared taxis, and people competed for space.

Perhaps soon some outraged passerby will decide to carry their own sign to warn drivers: “Caution, people walking”

A woman and a child walked alongside the garbage dump, just inches away from motorcycles and trucks. When a pickup truck passed by them, they climbed onto the filth to avoid being run over. Faced with a choice between the danger of microbes and being struck by a vehicle, they chose to risk exposure to the foul fumes. “We’re going to have to wash those sneakers,” the child’s mother lamented as soon as she saw him sink his soles into banana peels and other food scraps that were difficult to identify. continue reading

Historically associated with commerce and the constant movement of goods, Monte has become a showcase for the filth spreading throughout the city and the entire country. Even the authorities have finally acknowledged that the so-called micro-dumps have turned into mega-dumps. On this thoroughfare, the garbage does not occupy just one corner; it has also taken over the porticoes, sidewalks, and roadway.

Although no one has yet put up a sign warning of the danger, perhaps soon some outraged passerby will decide to carry their own sign to warn drivers: “Caution, people walking.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

The Multitudes in Caracas, the Silence in Havana

The return of María Corina Machado has revived the enthusiasm of those who still hope that the changes in Venezuela will also open the doors of Cuba.

A woman holds a sign while waiting for the arrival of opposition leader María Corina Machado, this Sunday in Maracay, Venezuela. / EFE/Miguel Gutiérrez

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, October 26, 2026 / Images of María Corina Machado touring Venezuela, surrounded by thousands of people chanting her name and demanding elections, have reached the phones of many Cubans. They aren’t broadcast on the National Television News nor do they make headlines in the official newspapers. They circulate on WhatsApp, jump from one Facebook profile to another, and are discussed in quiet voices or with enthusiasm. The news that the propaganda apparatus prefers to ignore finds its own way to bridge the distance between the two nations.

The return of the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has a special resonance on this island. Not only because Cuba and Venezuela have been united for decades by a political, economic, and military alliance, but also because events in Caracas have become a kind of mirror in which many Cubans seek to anticipate their own future. Every move on the Venezuelan chessboard is examined here with a mixture of anxiety, expectation, and mistrust.

The capture of Nicolás Maduro by US troops last January unleashed a wave of hope that extended far beyond Venezuela’s borders. In Cuba, where the economic crisis and political stagnation go hand in hand, some imagined that the collapse of Chavismo would also drag down its allies in Havana. Some even began to talk about timelines, calculating weeks and setting dates for a change that seemed imminent. continue reading

But the calendar was left uneventful. Maduro ended up out of power, while much of the structure that had sustained him remained in place. Delcy Rodríguez assumed the Venezuelan presidency, and Washington opted to negotiate with Chavismo. Democracy, which many had envisioned entering through the front door, became trapped amidst diplomatic talks, oil interests, and unfulfilled electoral promises.

In Cuba, meanwhile, the long-awaited opening did not materialize. Political prisoners continued to wait, censorship retained its instruments, and institutions remained under the control of the Communist Party. The hope of January began to fade in the face of a stubborn reality. Maduro’s fall was not enough to open the doors of Cuban prisons or for citizens to regain their rights.

Now Machado is introducing a promising variable into that equation. Her presence in the streets of Venezuela serves as a reminder that a transition cannot be reduced to simply replacing a ruler while preserving the mechanisms that impede real alterantions. The crowds that accompanied her were not merely celebrating her return. They were demanding elections, a word that is also absent from the political vocabulary permitted in Cuba.

The silence of the official press is, therefore, so revealing. An event of such magnitude in a country that for years was presented as Havana’s principle ally should merit prominent coverage. However, recognizing the popular support for an opposition leader would require portraying an image that contradicts too many narratives repeated for decades.

Nor is the connection between Caracas and Havana is not a thing of the past. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela, led by Delcy Rodríguez , called the recent arrest warrant issued in Florida against Raúl Castro for the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996 an “intimidation maneuver.” Its support for the Cuban regime suggests that old loyalties still hold sway, even as Chavismo negotiates with the United States.

From this island, Machado’s return is viewed with a hope more cautious than that in January. We Cubans have learned to distrust quick fixes and the freedoms others promise to bring us. But we also know how to recognize the significance of a multitude that loses its fear and once again occupies the streets. Perhaps that is the image that most unsettles those in power: not a woman returning to her country, but thousands of citizens convinced that they can still decide their own destiny.

______________________

The Cuban Regime Is Squandering Energy and Resources To Stem the Loss of Votes at the UN

Nervousness in Havana ahead of the vote on its annual resolution condemning the US embargo

This year’s debate will be shaped by the energy crisis exacerbated by the oil embargo and growing tensions between the US and Cuba. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, October 27, 2026 / For the thirty-fourth time, between Tuesday the 27th and tomorrow the 28th, the United Nations will vote on the resolution presented by Cuba against the United States embargo. As every year, the island’s official media will also carry out a full propaganda campaign on their front pages to support the resolution, which again bears the title: “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.” Something has changed this time, however: much greater pressure from the Donald Trump administration to secure a vote against the Cuban initiative or an abstention.

Havana, as usual, says that the embargo – signed in 1962 by then-President John F. Kennedy after the massive expropriations of the nascent Castro regime – which it systematically calls a “blockade,” “constitutes a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of all Cubans” and “seeks the isolation, suffocation, and immobility of Cuba.”

According to the regime’s figures, included in the report it is presenting to the UN, the damages caused by the embargo amounted to $8.0833 billion between March 2025 and February 2026, “7% more than in the previous period,” and that “at current prices, the accumulated losses over more than six decades reach $178.7005 billion.” Havana maintains that, had it not been for this unilateral US measure, “Cuban gross domestic product would have been 10.8% higher in 2025.” continue reading

The regime, however, does not say what the value is of the many companies it confiscated from 1959 onwards without compensating their legitimate owners.

The regime, however, does not say what the value is of the numerous companies it confiscated starting in 1959 without compensating their rightful owners. In response, not only the U.S. administration, but also numerous experts, attribute the island’s economic failure to the socialist system. A document presented in Miami two weeks ago by Cuban exile organizations, for example, asserts: “For decades, the Cuban communist regime has used this annual vote to present itself internationally as the victim of foreign aggression and to deflect attention from its own responsibility for the profound political, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis afflicting our country.”

The text, titled “Call from the Cuban Pro-Democracy Opposition to the Governments of the Free and Democratic World,” is an initiative to urge a vote against the Castro regime’s proposal at the UN. It attempts to disprove the existence of a US embargo and accuses the Cuban regime of having mismanaged flows of money and raw materials received for decades from the Soviet Union and Venezuela. Furthermore, it uses data on bilateral trade between Havana and Washington—authorized through exemptions or to the private sector, as the case may be—to deny the existence of limitations, specifically citing fuel shipments, which have been permitted—only from the United States—since January and reached a value of $231.74 million in eight months.

Another of the arguments used by the exile community is the humanitarian aid that the State Department has coordinated this year with the Catholic Church for distribution on the island. This donation began with a $9 million pledge following Hurricane Melissa in October 2015 and has been followed by another $100 million in response to the current crisis. Both have been accepted by the regime, though they accuse Washington of “hypocrisy,” blaming it for “applying draconian coercive measures” while announcing “soup and canned food for a select few.”

Ahead of the vote at the UN General Assembly, the opposition explicitly mentioned the governments of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin American democracies, and asked: “Do not give the Cuban regime political support that it can later use for its propaganda and to hide the lack of freedoms within Cuba.”

“Do not give the Cuban regime political support that it can later use for its propaganda and to hide the lack of freedoms.”

The quote was similar to the message conveyed by Marco Rubio to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in a phone call in which, among other things, he asked for his country’s vote against the Cuban resolution, something he is also believed to have asked of Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella.

The reports prompted a reaction from the Cuban regime, which issued a statement through the Twitter account of its Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez: “The US Secretary of State, nervous and anxious about yet another defeat at the United Nations, is pressuring and blackmailing heads of state and government of several countries to change their vote against the blockade at the UN General Assembly.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío went even further, lamenting that, “in the year of the greatest intensification of the economic war,” the US is seeking “to blame the aggrieved party, discredit the victim, and thus attempt to change a position that the international community has historically and unequivocally maintained in rejection of the economic blockade.” He added that Rubio “is flitting from country to country, calling heads of state in a desperate effort to intimidate, blackmail, and offer carrots to governments across the globe.”

In late September, a document obtained by the Associated Press and confirmed to the agency by several officials revealed that the U.S. State Department had plans to impose “stricter controls” on Cuban officials traveling to the United Nations for the vote on the resolution, although this has no practical implications, since Havana’s permanent delegation in New York is one of the largest, with 47 officials, according to the NGO Archivo Cuba.

The Cuban regime has historically secured the support of the General Assembly for this resolution, with its best year being 2016, precisely during the period of the thaw initiated by then-President Barack Obama, when it received no votes against and passed with only two abstentions, those of the United States and Israel—which had always voted against it. Since then, although support remains overwhelming, the decline in votes is noticeable. In 2025, the proposal passed with 165 votes in favor, seven against, and twelve abstentions, the worst result to date.

This Monday, during a press teleconference, Rubio stated that “Cuba is a very different case from Venezuela” and that “it needs a drastic change”

This year’s debate will be shaped by the energy crisis exacerbated by the oil blockade imposed by Washington since its intervention in Venezuela in January, which has worsened blackouts and the lack of public services such as drinking water. The tensions between Havana and Washington are also significant; despite contacts acknowledged by both governments, no tangible agreements have been reached.

This Monday, during a press conference held via teleconference, Rubio stated that “Cuba is a very different case from Venezuela” and that “it needs a drastic change.” He emphasized, without elaborating: “The situation is very different, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Last Friday, Rubio invited “those seeking to generate positive change in Cuba” to begin “a discreet collaboration with the CIA,” and the following day, the intelligence agency itself published a seven-step guide for Cubans who want to contact the agency safely and anonymously.

The text accompanying the Instagram post was explicit: “The CIA wants to know the truth about Cuba, and we are looking for trusted individuals who know and can share this truth with us. Your information may be more valuable than you think.”

______________________

Cuban Political Prisoner Félix Navarro Has Spent 66 Days in Isolation in a ‘Serious Health Situation’

His stay in that cell “is not part of any medical treatment and is being used as a covert punitive measure,” Cubalex denounces.

Félix Navarro was the victim of a “brutal beating” last April at Agüica prison / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, October 27, 2026 – Cuban political prisoner Félix Navarro is experiencing a “serious health situation” after spending more than two months in isolation in a cell in the infirmary of Agüica prison, in Matanzas. The legal advisory organization Cubalex denounced this Monday that “his stay in that cell is not part of any medical treatment and is being used as a covert punitive measure.”

For 66 days, the organization added, Navarro has not received “the required medical attention,” and it warned that “in the case of a 73-year-old person with diabetes and other ailments, the authorities must specifically assess the risks that prolonged separation may pose to his health. If isolation does not serve a genuine medical need, if there is no adequate health supervision, or if it is used as punishment, the situation raises additional concerns about the legality, necessity, and proportionality of the measure.”

Cubalex also emphasized that medical care in prison “cannot depend on the will of officials or be used as a mechanism of pressure.” In an extensive report, it added that “people deprived of their liberty retain their right to health, and the State has an obligation to guarantee them care that is essentially equivalent to that available in the community, without discrimination based on their political opinions or the nature of the charges brought against them.”

For this reason, the NGO stressed that the treatment of Navarro “demonstrates the continued use of prison isolation and medical negligence as systematic mechanisms of repression. When a sick person remains isolated for weeks without receiving the care they need, this is not merely a disciplinary or administrative matter: their health, dignity, and right to humane treatment are at stake.” continue reading

The treatment of Navarro “demonstrates the continued use of prison isolation and medical negligence as systematic mechanisms of repression”

The organization reported that in October alone, it has documented 18 incidents involving punishment or isolation cells in the country, placing the month among those with the highest incidence this year. “A total of 95 people have been victims of these practices in Cuban prisons, with alarming repeated cases involving political prisoners such as Danisbel Labrada, Fausto René Ramos, Ediolvis Marín Mora, and Virgilio Mantilla,” Cubalex detailed. The organization insisted that these practices flagrantly violate the UN’s Mandela Rules, which guide states in the treatment of people deprived of their liberty, and the Convention against Torture.

Félix Navarro, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence on charges of “assault, contempt, and public disorder,” was the victim of a “brutal beating” last April at Agüica prison.

Saylí Navarro, the activist’s daughter, who is also imprisoned and was sentenced to eight years for the same crimes as her father, as well as for “disobedience,” disclosed in a telephone call that her father had been dragged more than 100 meters “handcuffed, with his hands behind his back, to a punishment cell in the area known as the Vivac.” There, he was beaten and kicked in his right foot. “Navarro was confined to an isolation cell for nearly two hours” afterward.

The opposition activist was left with his face “torn on the right cheek, the mark of the officer’s hand from when he tried to silence him by force, and marks on his wrists caused by the excessive pressure of the handcuffs,” his daughter described at the time in a statement published by Martí Noticias.

The opposition activist was left with his face “torn on the right cheek, the mark of the officer’s hand from when he tried to silence him by force, and marks on his wrists”

In response to the assault, Amnesty International demanded days later the “immediate and unconditional release of Félix Navarro, urgent guarantees for his life and physical integrity, immediate contact with his family, and justice for this serious human rights violation.”

The organization stated on X that repression in Cuba now has “another dimension: punishment directed at families who seek information, provide care, offer support, and denounce abuses.”

It also stated that “prisoners of conscience in Cuba face arbitrary imprisonment, incommunicado detention, threats, punishments, and other forms of mistreatment for peacefully exercising their rights. Their relatives, especially women, also often bear the burden of harassment, anguish, emotional exhaustion, and institutional abandonment.”

Both Félix Navarro, who was among the prisoners of the 2003 Black Spring, and his daughter were arrested on the morning of July 12, 2021, when they went to the police station in the Matanzas municipality of Perico to inquire about the fate of those detained the previous day, following the historic 11 July 2021 demonstrations.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

Cuban Meteorologists Forecast an Unusual Winter Season on the Island

Specialists predict the arrival of more cold fronts, with notably low minimum temperatures and significant rainfall.

Customers bundled up at a market in Sancti Spíritus. / 14ymedio

EFE/14ymedio, Havana, October 27, 2026 – Cuba could be on the verge of an unusual winter season, during which meteorologists expect the arrival of more cold fronts, with notably low minimum temperatures and significant rainfall, especially between February and April 2027, state media reported on Monday.

During a forum on climate outlooks held yesterday, specialists from the Climate Center of the Institute of Meteorology, as well as from provincial Forecasting and Meteorological Centers, indicated that the presence of a “very strong” El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event in the equatorial Pacific Ocean will affect Cuba’s weather conditions, making them “anomalous and unstable” during the six-month period from November 2026 to April 2027.

The ENSO event is expected to reach its “maximum intensity” between November and January, which will have direct implications for the behavior of the coming winter on the Island, explained Idalmis González, head of the Climate Center, as quoted by the newspaper Granma. continue reading

The ENSO event is expected to reach its “maximum intensity” between November and January, which will have direct implications for the behavior of the coming winter

Regarding temperatures, meteorologists are drawing attention to the likelihood of “maximum and minimum temperatures below” the historical average during the February–March two-month period in the western, central, and eastern parts of the country, which is accustomed to generally warm winters.

Their forecasts indicate that cold air masses bringing very cold minimum temperatures could arrive as early as next December, while during February and March they consider it possible that extratropical low-pressure systems will form in the Gulf of Mexico, causing rain, strong winds, and possible coastal flooding.

Specifically, for the November–January quarter, their projections warn that precipitation will be above the historical average in the western region, close to the average in the central region, and below average in the eastern part of the country.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

Cuba Closes the Country’s Largest Zinc and Lead Mine Due to “External Causes”

The Castellanos project, in Pinar del Río, was operated by a joint venture involving Geominera, which was sanctioned by the U.S.

The Castellanos project, in Pinar del Río, produced around 100,000 tons of zinc and 50,000 tons of lead annually, destined mainly for China. / Granma/Ronald Suárez Rivas

14ymedio, Madrid, October 27, 2026 – The Ministry of Energy and Mines has ordered the temporary closure of the Castellanos-Santa Lucía Polymetallic Project, in Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río. The project was operated by the joint venture Minera del Caribe S.A. (Emincar), a partnership between the state-owned Geominera and the Dutch company Trafigura.

The shutdown, scheduled to remain in effect until January 30, 2027, comes four months after Trafigura stopped shipping zinc concentrate from the Pinar del Río mine to its customers, amid fears of Washington’s sanctions against foreign companies linked to the Cuban regime.

Although the closure of the mining project was announced this Monday, the Ministry’s decree was published in the Official Gazette on October 2. Resolution 49 attributes the decision to close the Castellanos mine to “external causes related to logistics, exports, and the energy deficit” that make it impossible to continue exploiting the deposit and processing the mineral.

The news has not gone down well with residents of the community. In comments on the official announcement, they complained about the loss of jobs for “thousands” of workers and the additional employment incentives provided by the joint venture. According to testimonials on social media, the project had provided jobs for many unemployed people in the area. Others criticized the environmental damage caused by the industry and the exploitation of natural resources without the population ever seeing the results of the profits, which went exclusively to the State. continue reading

The decision to close the Castellanos mine was due to “external causes related to logistics, exports, and the energy deficit”

Castellanos had an annual production capacity of approximately 100,000 tons of zinc concentrate and 50,000 tons of lead concentrate, almost all of which was destined for the Chinese market. In June, Trafigura informed Chinese smelters that it would replace those shipments with supplies from other sources because of “growing pressure from the United States.” The company said it continued to supply its customers “in compliance with the sanctions applicable to it.”

Although Trafigura was not itself directly targeted by sanctions, the Cuban state-owned company Geominera, which owns 51% of Emincar’s shares, was directly sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) last June under Donald Trump’s May 1 executive order, which extends the threat of penalties to any foreign company doing business with sanctioned entities.

Along with the closure of the Castellanos project, the Ministry of Energy and Mines also terminated Empresa Geominera Pinar del Río’s geological exploration concession in the Arcilla Malcasado area. Resolution 52 of 2026 declares that the area may be subject to “new applications for mining activities.”

Along with the closure of the Castellanos project, the Ministry of Energy and Mines also terminated Empresa Geominera Pinar del Río’s geological exploration concession in the Arcilla Malcasado area

Washington’s offensive against the Island’s mining sector is part of the pressure the Trump administration has exerted on the Cuban regime this year, demanding profound political and economic changes in the country.

In this context, OFAC has also sanctioned Minera La Victoria, a company equally owned by Australia’s Antilles Gold and Cuba’s Geominera. The Australian company suspended its involvement in management and financing, and the Chinese contractor halted the construction contract for the Nueva Sabana copper and gold mine in Ciego de Ávila.

Antilles has proposed to the State Department that U.S. investors purchase at least 51% of its subsidiary so that it can obtain an OFAC license and continue operating on the Island. In August, it announced a binding agreement with GEM Global Yield, a Luxembourg-based fund controlled by individuals subject to U.S. jurisdiction, which would acquire 25% of the subsidiary while awaiting Washington’s approval.

Similarly, Canada’s Sherritt International, Cuba’s partner in the Moa Nickel nickel and cobalt plant in Holguín, halted its operations on the Island in May, when Washington sanctioned the joint venture. Sherritt suspended its withdrawal plan after Gillon Capital, the firm owned by Ray Washburne, a Texas businessman close to Donald Trump, expressed interest in taking control of the Canadian company.

On October 20, Sherritt reported that OFAC had granted it a license to transport fuel, fuel oil, and sulfur to Moa. It is the first of several emergency licenses intended to restart operations. Sherritt also signed a preliminary agreement with Moa Bay Mining, which holds a certified claim under the Helms-Burton Act concerning the properties in Moa, a lawsuit that had complicated negotiations to continue operating these Cuban mines.

Translated by Regina Anavy

______________________

The Isla de la Juventud ‘Ferry’ Breaks Down Again and Foreign Experts Are Awaited to Inspect It

The ‘Perseverancia’, with a capacity of 430 passengers, will be replaced by the ‘V2V Empress’, a Mexican catamaran that can carry only 240 people

The ferry cannot even be towed, and authorities are awaiting the arrival of foreign specialists to assess the damage / Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, October 26, 2027 / The Perseverancia, which connects the Isla de la Juventud with Batabanó, in Mayabeque province, is once again out of service after suffering a serious breakdown in one of its engines, the local station Radio Caribe reported this Monday. The ferry cannot even be towed, and the authorities are awaiting the arrival of foreign specialists to assess the damage and determine when it can be repaired.

The new breakdown comes less than a year after a repair that forced it to be withdrawn from service and that lasted from October to December 2025 in the Havana shipyards, with supplies contracted for more than 550,000 euros. “All very nice, but they don’t say when it’s going to sail, whichever boat it is,” one user complained in the comments on the station’s post.

The new breakdown comes less than a year after a repair that lasted from October to December 2025

As Carlos Lázaro Arroyo Salas, director of the Viamar Basic Business Unit, explained to the official Isla de la Juventud station, the ferry suffered a serious failure in its main port engine, which ended up contaminating the crankcase with fresh water.

Water getting into the oil reservoir that lubricates the engine parts can cause major damage. To assess its extent, foreign specialists are due to arrive in Nueva Gerona this Tuesday; their visit had initially been planned for the first quarter of 2027. The ferry was built in South Korea and is equipped with two American Cummins engines. continue reading

Radio Caribe explains that the specialists are “the only ones authorized to open up the engine” and determine the magnitude of the breakdown, so only after their inspection can a repair schedule be established. In the meantime, the vessel remains immobilized.

‘Radio Caribe’ explains that the foreign specialists are “the only ones authorized to open up the engine” and determine the magnitude of the breakdown

For now, trips depend on the V2V Empress, the Mexican catamaran that began operating in October 2025. It has capacity for about 240 passengers, compared with the Perseverancia’s 430, and maintains a limit of 20 kilograms of luggage per traveler. The authorities give priority to those who need to continue on to other provinces, catch international flights or attend oncology appointments.

Faced with the difficulties in repairing the Perseverancia, the authorities once again fell back on the US embargo as an explanation. According to Radio Caribe, there are “containers held up in Central America” with spare parts for the ferry that have not been able to reach Cuba, although the station does not specify where they are or how long they have been waiting to be shipped.

According to ‘Radio Caribe’, there are “containers held up in Central America” with spare parts for the ferry that have not been able to reach Cuba because of the “blockade”

User Rubi Sánchez Cuza commented sarcastically on that justification. “Everything was going perfectly until I saw the word ‘blockade’ and that the parts are held up in a container,” she wrote. Miguel Martel questioned how the visit of the foreign specialists can be arranged but not the shipment of the spare parts, and snapped: “Enough with the excuses already.”

Lino Nelson Bouza, a 74-year-old retiree, pointed out that the authorities cannot keep waiting for the United States to lift the embargo to solve the transportation problems and called for alternatives for the residents of the Isla de la Juventud.

A user identified as Isla Lg questioned the transport of baseball teams while there are residents who cannot get a ticket. Another comment criticizes the space given over to goods for private businesses when there are families who need to travel.

Several comments also point out that the Perseverancia is an essential route for bringing food to the special municipality. Now the shortages could worsen further and prices could rise.

The ‘Perseverancia’ is an essential route for bringing food to the special municipality, and now the shortages could worsen further and prices could rise

In September 2023, barely two months after entering service, the Perseverancia suspended its trips until further notice, amid the fuel shortage. The Viajero Company then asked residents to limit their travel to matters that could not be postponed and suspended the waiting lists.

Transportation Minister Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila acknowledged in August 2024 that the ferry was overworked, after having made hundreds of crossings carrying passengers and goods. The catamarans Río Júcaro and Río Las Casas were still under repair, and the plane linking Havana with Nueva Gerona was not operating either due to technical problems. The official then called for “taking extreme care” of the Perseverancia, the only means available.

The situation worsened in November of that year, when the port of Batabanó had to be dredged after Hurricane Rafael left accumulated sediment that prevented the vessel’s safe passage.

When it was withdrawn for a new repair in October 2025, the Perseverancia had racked up, in just over two years, 716 crossings, carrying almost 298,000 passengers and more than 82,000 tons of cargo. In the Havana shipyards it underwent more than fifty technical interventions, including the replacement of propellers, steering system components and shaft lines. The work ran ten days longer than planned due to unforeseen technical issues and was completed in December.

Translated by GH.

______________________