Translating Cuba – English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island

A Nurse Dies in Cienfuegos After Being Attacked for Demanding That a Child be Vaccinated

The case reopens the debate over the pressure and sanctions faced by Cuban healthcare workers.

The General Health Directorate of Cumanayagua confirmed the death this Monday and offered its condolences to her husband and daughters but omitted any reference to the attack. / Maribel Pupo/Facebook

14ymedio, Madrid, November 2, 2026 – Maribel Pupo, a nurse in the Vaccination Department of the Aracelio Rodríguez Teaching Hospital in Cumanayagua, Cienfuegos, died after spending several days in critical condition following an assault last Thursday by the father of a child whom she had asked to be brought in for vaccination. The victim was struck, causing her to fall and suffer serious head injuries, according to a report by independent communicator Niover Licea.

The municipality’s General Health Directorate confirmed the death this Monday and offered its condolences to Pupo’s husband and daughters, but omitted any reference to the attack, which had previously been reported by Licea and the Última Hora profile.

The nurse underwent surgery in Cienfuegos and remained in critical condition. Licea places her death between seven and eight in the evening on Sunday, November 1, while the Health Directorate says it occurred this Monday. Funeral services were announced for this afternoon at two o’clock at the funeral home in Cumanayagua. continue reading

Niover Licea reported that the alleged assailant remained free while Pupo was hospitalized

The independent communicator also reported that the alleged assailant remained free while Pupo was hospitalized. No official information has been released about his legal situation.

“My aunt was not a news story, she was not a name in a post,” wrote Alianny Villazon Pupo, who identified herself as the victim’s niece, in the comments on the Facebook post in which Niover Licea reported the death. “She was a daughter, a mother, a sister, an aunt, and a working woman who dedicated her life to caring for others by working as a nurse.” The young woman demanded justice and said the family would not allow her death to be forgotten.

In the comments on that same post, several healthcare workers denounced the pressure they face to ensure that families comply with childhood vaccination schedules and other medical tests.

Rosa América Castillo Ferrer described the demands made by her superiors when children were behind on their vaccinations. “I witnessed constant harassment from my supervisors and area managers over some children’s overdue vaccinations,” she wrote. At times, she said, she had to visit homes and wait for parents to pick up their children from daycare so they could be vaccinated. “The Cuban healthcare system has to change its practice of holding healthcare personnel responsible for patients’ irresponsibility,” she demanded.

Liuby García warned that a nurse could be “severely sanctioned for noncompliance” if she did not do everything possible to get a patient vaccinated. “It is definitely not the healthcare personnel’s choice,” she maintained.

For her part, Niuvys Pérez, who identified herself as a nurse, defended patients’ autonomy and “your right to receive or not receive treatment.” She also questioned whether some healthcare workers go so far as to “demand compliance or verbally mistreat a patient or family member.”

The pressures described by these healthcare workers also have consequences for patients. A resident of Havana told 14ymedio that for years the nurse at her local doctor’s office insisted that she undergo a pap smear at the neighborhood polyclinic, even though she preferred to have it done at other medical centers. According to her account, the insistence went so far that her name appeared on a public bulletin board listing women who had not undergone the test.

“The pressure on medical personnel to report that all those required tests and vaccinations have been carried out is insane, and they pass that pressure on to the patient,” says a Havana resident

“The pressure on medical personnel to report that all those required tests and vaccinations have been carried out is insane, and they pass that pressure on to the patient,” says the woman, who clarifies: “Nothing justifies the horror of what happened to this nurse.”

For her part, Idalmis Echevarría Bermúdez, who identified herself as Pupo’s friend, commented on the condolence post published by the Cumanayagua Health Directorate: “A life lost without being ill, because an illness can be understood, but a death caused by another person’s actions is unforgivable. It is something that could have been prevented.”

Maribel Pupo’s death adds to other cases of nurses murdered in Cuba in recent years. In February 2023, 29-year-old Neisa López was murdered in Bayamo. The assailant was a former police officer whom the young woman had treated as a nurse and who, according to her family, harassed her after she quit her job.

In January of this year, another nurse, 58, who worked at a prison camp in Jatibonico, Sancti Spíritus, was killed by a former inmate while returning home.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Havana Coffee Roasting Plant Switches from Diesel to Gas to Roast Coffee

The official media present as a “technological innovation” a practice that is standard in the industry worldwide, while acknowledging that domestic production of the bean is insufficient

Trabajadoras de la Torrefactora de La Habana empaquetan bolsas de Café Serrano. / Canal Caribe

14ymedio, Madrid, November 2, 2026 / For at least a week now, residents of Havana’s Nuevo Vedado neighborhood, near this newspaper’s newsroom, have once again noticed the haze and the unpleasant burning smell in the air, unmistakable signs that the Café Selecto Roasting Plant of Havana has resumed roasting domestically harvested beans.

The Roasting Plant, which belongs to the Ministry of the Food Industry, had halted production due to the fuel crisis, which prevented it from using diesel for roasting. Now the factory has announced its switch to manufactured gas, which has allowed it to resume operations. Gas roasting had already been adopted years ago by most of the coffee industry worldwide, owing to its low cost, availability, and ease of measurement and regulation. Gas also allows for more controllable roasting than diesel and is more efficient in terms of heat and radiation.

However, the official press now presents it as a “technological innovation” and “an unprecedented experience in the country,” a symbol of “resistance and talent” in the face of the “economic war imposed by Washington,” which threatens to “completely paralyze the industry.”

According to Canal Caribe, it was this paralysis under US pressure that led “experts and specialists” from the Agri-Food Business Group to “turn to science and to the study of practices in similar industries internationally.” continue reading

“The levels of domestically sourced beans being processed are still insufficient for the installed industrial capacity”

“Around the world, the fuel normally used in the coffee roasting industry is liquefied gas,” acknowledged the technical director of the Cubacafé company, who went on to explain how they made the “unprecedented” logistical decision: “What happened? Because of the harsh imperialist blockade, we were forced to replace the diesel we normally used with manufactured gas.”

However, the report also admits that “the levels of domestically sourced beans being processed are still insufficient for the installed industrial capacity,” which means that the country’s coffee harvest is not enough to keep the Roasting Plant running at full capacity. To “boost production and export more,” the report continues, they are prioritizing industrial management in partnership with “other economic actors.” One such case is Nescor, the joint venture formed by the Swiss multinational Nestlé and the Cuban state-owned Corporación Alimentaria S.A. (Coralsa), producers of Café Serrano, the brand the Roasting Plant was processing at the time of the report.

Café nacional a la venta este lunes en una tienda estatal en dólares de Carlos III. El kilo de Cubita cuesta 18,50 dólares. / 14ymedio

The general director of the Roasting Plant welcomed the fact that, thanks to the 176 economic reforms implemented by the Government, there is now the opportunity to open a retail outlet that will benefit both workers and local residents. Although she did not specify the prices of the products on offer, coffee from this Roasting Plant is sold to Cubans themselves in dollars. A kilogram of domestic coffee can cost, for example, 18.50 dollars, which at today’s exchange rate is equivalent to 16,650 Cuban pesos, that is, much more than the monthly salary of a Roasting Plant worker.

This was confirmed by one of the company’s own employees. Yonier Simeón told Canal Caribe that he used to earn 4,000 pesos a month, but his salary has now risen to 13,000 – 14.44 dollars at today’s exchange rate – although with quarterly incentives and sales bonuses he can earn up to 20,000 – just over 22 dollars. That would be enough to buy perhaps two packages of Serrano, the very coffee they produce.

Also asked about the 176 economic reforms, the technical director of Cubacafé – which belongs to the Ministry of the Food Industry – welcomed the government measure that puts them “on the same level as non-state actors, and that makes the state enterprise more competitive.”

The Roasting Plant, however, still does not have a photovoltaic system to mitigate the problems caused by prolonged blackouts

Roasting this “100% domestic” bean with manufactured gas, according to the specialists cited by Canal Caribe, shows parameters of “quality, efficiency and financial savings.” As an example of the benefits of this “technological innovation,” they compare it with the consumption previously required: producing ten tons of coffee used to take 1,280 liters of diesel. Engineer Yordis Roja explained that gas roasting improves the quality of the final bean (aroma, flavor, essential oils) because the roasting is slower and more even.

The Roasting Plant, however, still does not have a photovoltaic system to mitigate the problems caused by prolonged blackouts. According to the Cubacafé executive, they plan to begin the first stage of this installation in the first quarter of 2027.

The various problems with domestic production of the bean mean that it is offered to the public in dollars and at prices beyond consumers’ reach. As a result, the coffee Cubans drink most is not the one produced on the island – which is geared more toward the international market – but the one imported from the US: La Llave, Bustelo, Pilón, La Carreta, and Cubanazo.

According to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei), domestic coffee production fell by 84.8% between 2021 and 2025. In Santiago de Cuba, the country’s main coffee-growing province, the forecast for the 2026-2027 harvest is to collect just over 1,390 tons, compared with the nearly 4,000 projected two years earlier. But coffee is not the only example of the collapse of domestic production. With the exception of tobacco, beer, detergent, and lobster tail, every productive sector has collapsed over the last five years: rice, shrimp, coffee, pork, yogurt, cement, and televisions fell by between 65% and 98%, according to official Onei figures.

Translated by GH.

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The Dollar Accelerates Its Unstoppable Rise and Reaches 900 Cuban pesos on the Informal Market

Just 17 days ago, the U.S. currency reached 800 CUP and was trading at 435 at the beginning of January.

In less than a year, the exchange rate has risen by nearly 120%. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Madrid, November 2, 2026 – The dollar reached 900 pesos on the informal currency market in the early hours of November 2, according to the real-time tracking carried out by the media outlet El Toque. Although Monday’s daily chart still places the U.S. currency at 890 CUP [Cuban peso], the rate of 900, reached at 5:16 a.m., could become established if the trend continues throughout the day.

The currency’s movement has been very rapid over the past week. Just seven days ago, the dollar was worth 840 CUP on the informal market and rose by five each day until, from Thursday to Friday, it rose by ten CUP. On Saturday, the jump was even greater, from 865 to 880 in just 24 hours, and this Sunday it rose another 10 CUP. Furthermore, it is worth remembering that only half a month has passed since the previous round number was reached on October 15, when the U.S. currency hit 800 CUP.

Only half a month has passed since the previous round number was reached on October 15, when the U.S. currency hit 800 CUP

The gap with the official rate has once again become significant. This Monday, the Central Bank of Cuba is maintaining the dollar at 768 CUP for what is known as Segment 3, the floating exchange rate introduced by the Government at the end of 2025 to “organize the economy and move toward a future monetary unification.” At that time, the financial authorities had two rates. On the one hand, the first segment, at 1×24, applied to centralized state allocations for goods and services considered essential, such as fuel, medicines, electricity, public transportation, and the basic food basket. On the other hand, the second, at 1×120, applied to entities capable of generating foreign currency, particularly the tourism sector. continue reading

With this third rate, known as the floating rate and intended for individuals and non-state forms of economic management, the aim was to better reflect reality at a time when the exchange rate on the informal market stood at 440 CUP per dollar and the BCC started with a relatively close rate of 410. But in less than a year, the dollar has risen by 119.5%.

The rapid depreciation of the national currency is also evident in the euro, whose price is on the verge of reaching 1,000 CUP. This morning, the European currency reached 990 after rising by 20 in a single day. Although the euro is used less than the dollar in daily transactions by the population and private businesses, it has a significant following because it is in high demand for procedures at the consulates of countries that are particularly important in this regard, such as Spain. Furthermore, the Cuban exile community in that country now accounts for nearly 10% of all migrants from the Island, so many remittances also arrive in this currency. The official euro exchange rate stands at 856.6, according to the BCC website.

The rapid depreciation of the national currency is also evident in the euro, whose price is on the verge of reaching 1,000 CUP

The creation of private currency exchange offices has also failed to stem the decline of the CUP. The first and for now the only one whose existence has come to light is ADT 64, located in Santa Clara. It opened in late August and became known in mid-September. The micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise began buying U.S. currency at 710 CUP and selling it at 730, while the State’s rate that day was 664 and El Toque’s was 700 CUP.

At the time, economist Pedro Monreal warned that the lack of transparency
surrounding the start of this “experiment,” which was supposed to be extended throughout the country, was one of its many drawbacks, along with the absence of regulations and information about how prices were determined. “For the BCC, the risk is twofold. On the one hand, the Segment III rate (private actors) could end up moving closer to the rate on ‘the street’ and lose its current anchor of 1 dollar = 660 CUP.

On the other hand, if the central bank ignores the pilot program’s initial data and maintains the administered rate, the experiment would become an expensive showcase that is inconsistent with the exchange rate published by the State itself,” he said. It has taken very little time for his warning to prove correct. And the U.S. dollar’s rise is on an unstoppable course toward 1,000 CUP, something unthinkable just a few months ago.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Hospital in Banes Suffers Collapse Amid Deterioration of Health Infrastructure

The incident caused no casualties, but once again highlights the maintenance problems at medical centers

The collapse occurred in an area where family members and companions are almost always waiting / Facebook

14ymedio, Havana, November 2, 2026 / Part of the front structure of the Carlos Enrique Font Pupo Clinical-Surgical Teaching Hospital in Banes, in Holguín province, collapsed on Sunday afternoon. The report of the incident came not from the public but from an official journalist, who thanked “God that there was no loss of human life to mourn.”

The collapse occurred in an outdoor area where “relatives and companions almost always wait,” according to Flabio Gutiérrez, who has been a contributor for seven years to the provincial newspaper Ahora, which, so far, has not reported the incident.

In his message, the journalist noted that “this hospital has been giving people something to talk about since it was founded. It’s not possible that just a few days after its inauguration (in 2001) it already had leaks. Its comfort was always highly questioned, as was its service.” The images he shared along with his text show a large section of collapsed roof just a few meters from an entrance door to the hospital.

“I thought it wasn’t true, but I went by there a few hours ago. Incredible, a relatively new hospital, substantial resources, and a lot of propaganda. There’s the result, and silence as the response,” a user replied to the journalist’s report. continue reading

“Incredible, a relatively new hospital, substantial resources, and a lot of propaganda. There’s the result, and silence as the response”

According to other testimonies posted on social media, that entrance had been closed months earlier because of the risk of collapse. “About three months ago, that part was shut down because of a possible collapse, leaving that entrance closed, and the hospital lobby entrance was opened instead, which patients and workers have used ever since,” another user indicated. However, there is no record of whether any repair work was carried out during that period or whether there was any plan to restore the structure.

The collapse in Banes is not an isolated event and adds to several episodes that have revealed infrastructure problems in the country’s health centers in recent years. The previous recorded case occurred last May at the Manuel Fajardo Hospital in Havana. In a Facebook post, pro-government journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso reported that there had been a fire in a low-activity area of the institution. That circumstance made it easier to contain and quickly extinguish. Even so, both medical staff and patients had to be evacuated.

A month earlier, a fire broke out at the Gustavo Aldereguía Lima Provincial Hospital in Cienfuegos. The incident forced the evacuation of patients, companions, and health staff from several key areas of the medical facility, with no injuries reported.

Days before that, another fire was reported at the Saturnino Lora Torres Provincial Clinical-Surgical Teaching Hospital, the most important hospital in Santiago de Cuba. A nurse confirmed to CiberCuba that the incident occurred in the intermediate care ward, where there were patients from that unit as well as from intensive care, the latter affected by leaks coming from the floor above.

Another fire was reported at the Saturnino Lora Torres Provincial Clinical-Surgical Teaching Hospital, the most important hospital in Santiago de Cuba

Before that, in June 2023, part of the ceiling came down at the Calixto García Hospital in Havana, forcing patients to be moved. “Today is the second time that pieces of the ceiling have fallen in the post-operative room at Calixto García in Havana. Tiles from the false ceiling fell. The first time was three weeks ago, when some debris fell on top of a doctor and a patient,” an internet user identified as Diarmuid wrote on X at the time.

That same year in Camagüey, the floor of the Ophthalmology Center at the Manuel Ascunce Domenech University Hospital suddenly buckled. It was the institution itself that reported that the event “caused a loud crash, frightening the patients who were attending outpatient appointments. One woman was injured as a result of the incident, caused by people rushing out.”

In that same province, the José Martí polyclinic, located in the center of the city of Camagüey, had closed its doors months earlier due to the imminent danger of collapse. As a result, all its services had to be transferred to other centers.

While health centers suffer these incidents due to lack of investment and neglect, in the political sphere they boast that “health is a central social achievement of the country and for that very reason admits no neglect; it is the sector where the population is most demanding and where any failure is immediately felt in family life,” Miguel Díaz-Canel said this Sunday during a report on various visits authorities made to health sector institutions.

“Health in our country is a fundamental human right, an achievement of the revolution, and not a commodity or a privilege”

The president stressed that “health in our country is a fundamental human right, an achievement of the revolution, and not a commodity or a privilege.”

However, Díaz-Canel’s message comes in a context in which the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei) itself admitted last May that Cuba lacks 91.5% of medicines and medical supplies.

The shortage was already evident as far back as December 2021, when it was reported at 50%. From then on, the situation worsened by leaps and bounds. In March 2022 the rate rose to 56.6%, in August 2023 it was already at 66%, and in September 2024 it reached 85%. Barely two months later (November 2024) it hit an unprecedented peak of 90.9%, but in 2025 it was held in check.

Translated by GH.

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A Man Is Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering a Police Officer in Palma Soriano

According to the Santiago de Cuba court, Guillermo Sánchez Gutiérrez stabbed the officer until he was certain he had killed him and acted out of revenge.

In imposing the life sentence, the court took into account “the significance of the incident” and the “high degree of social dangerousness” of the act. / Sierra Maestra

14ymedio, Madrid, November 1, 2026 – The First Criminal Chamber of the Provincial People’s Court of Santiago de Cuba sentenced Guillermo Sánchez Gutiérrez to life imprisonment for fatally stabbing the head of the National Police substation in the area where he lived, in the municipality of Palma Soriano, according to a report published this Saturday by the official newspaper Sierra Maestra.

The First Criminal Chamber of the Provincial People’s Court of Santiago de Cuba sentenced Guillermo Sánchez Gutiérrez to life imprisonment for fatally stabbing the head of the National Police substation in the area where he lived, in the municipality of Palma Soriano, according to a report published this Saturday by the official newspaper Sierra Maestra.

The verdict was announced this Saturday following a trial described as “exemplary,” corresponding to case 73 of 2026, in which the defendant was sentenced for murder, illegal possession of a knife, unlawful entry into a residence, and threats, with the aggravating circumstance of acting out of revenge.

The crime dates back to July 19, 2025. According to the court’s account, that day Sánchez Gutiérrez encountered the National Police auxiliary officer, dressed in civilian clothes, at a neighbor’s house. There, he unexpectedly attacked him with a knife, inflicting a deep wound to one leg, “telling him that this was the last time he would see him.” continue reading

Although injured, the officer managed to run about 60 meters and take refuge in another neighbor’s home. The assailant pursued him there, broke down the door, and stabbed him again in the abdomen, back, and legs. The report specifies that he left only after making sure he had killed him.

In imposing the life sentence, the court took into account “the significance of the incident” and the “high degree of social dangerousness” of an act that targeted a person carrying out his duties as a police auxiliary officer.

The sentence applies Articles 344 and 380 of the Penal Code, which punish murder with 20 to 30 years of imprisonment, life imprisonment, or the death penalty, and unlawful entry into a residence with two to five years. The court also considered the aggravating circumstance of acting out of revenge or retaliation, provided for in Article 80.

The convicted man was also deprived of his public rights and ordered to pay a pension for each of the victim’s two minor children, as well as cover the funeral expenses.

In imposing the life sentence, the court took into account “the significance of the incident,” the “high degree of social dangerousness” of an act targeting someone performing duties as a police auxiliary officer, and the defendant’s characteristics, describing him as having poor social conduct and a criminal record.

In comments on the report published by the official media outlet, numerous users criticized the fact that such a severe sentence is not applied with the same rigor when the victims are civilians, something that, according to several commenters, occurs especially in cases of femicide. The number of such crimes in the first ten months of 2026 has already surpassed the total for the previous year, according to this newspaper’s tally. “When a woman or another person is murdered, why isn’t the same procedure followed?” one user wrote. Another commenter summed up the discontent this way: “Once again, a sentence that is not applied equally to murders of women, children, and rapists. It isn’t fair.”

“Once again, a sentence that is not applied equally to murders of women, children, and rapists. It isn’t fair.”

This is not the first time the Cuban justice system has resorted to life imprisonment when the victim is a police officer. In February of this year, the same Santiago de Cuba court sentenced three young men to life imprisonment for murdering a police officer and stealing his motorcycle. In March, the Provincial Court of Camagüey imposed a life sentence on Osvaldo Fernández Pichardo for stabbing a female officer who survived. Authorities classified that case as “terrorism” and claimed that someone in the United States had offered him $600 to carry out the attack.

These are just some examples from this year, but such cases have been reported before, presented by the official press as exemplary trials. In 2020, another young man was also sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a police officer at a police station in Calabazar, Havana, and injuring two others.

The official report does not give the name of the murdered officer. A few days after the crime, independent media outlets reported that a police officer identified as Yoleysi had been fatally stabbed in the Paraná neighborhood of Palma Soriano while attempting to deliver a summons to a young man. The similarities in location, approximate date, and weapon suggest that this is the same case.

The sentence comes at a time when the eastern part of the country is experiencing a spate of crimes that the authorities do not report officially. In Palma Soriano, for example, three murders were independently documented in just three months. Women have also been among the most frequent victims of violence in the province: in June, 23-year-old Rosaidis Donatien was murdered by her husband, also in Palma Soriano; in July, 17-year-old Merlin Noay died days after her stepfather attacked her in Yerba de Guinea, in Songo La Maya; and in September, 25-year-old Yadelaine Roque Torres was murdered by her former partner in a rural area near El Cobre.

Crime in Cuba shows signs of increasingly lethal violence, advancing alongside the country’s alarming crisis. According to monitoring by Cubalex, 52 homicides were documented in August, 40.5% more than the 37 recorded in July, marking a record for the independent organization’s data for the second consecutive month. That month, a total of 314 incidents of violence and insecurity were also recorded, including homicides, robberies, and assaults.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Even the Telephones Don’t Obey the Cuban Government: The ‘Non-Change’ of the Clocks Unleashes Chaos

The Cuban government’s decision to extend summer time to alleviate the electricity crisis clashes with device programming and further complicates daily life.

Several users criticized the institutions for not informing the public, especially the elderly, with sufficient advance notice. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, November 1, 2026 /Even knowing what time it is has become a problem in Cuba. This Sunday, numerous smartphones and computers woke up an hour behind the official time, after the automatic switch to winter time. The government had decided, however, to keep the clocks ahead in an attempt to alleviate the electricity crisis. The result has been a tremendous technological mess, with users searching for instructions, modifying settings, and asking for help to get their devices to obey the authorities.

In Luyanó, a Havana neighborhood, a resident insists that the elderly are among the most affected. “The old folks in the neighborhood who don’t know how to manipulate a phone are going crazy with the time change,” she tells 14ymedio. She herself has had to become an impromptu technician: “I already fixed mine and my mother’s.”

Faced with a avalanche of complaints, Etecsa issued an explanation this Sunday. In a statement published on Facebook, the company asserted that its technicians had worked for recent days to adapt the telecommunications systems and that the process was completed “satisfactorily.” However, it recognized that many phones did automatically change their time because their operating systems retained the previous settings. Its recommendation is to disable automatic time adjustment and manually advance the clock by sixty minutes.

“Out of the eight devices I have at home, I had to manually change the time on all eight!”

But the difficulties don’t end with finding the right settings. “Houston, we have a problem!” another user quips. “That claim that the time change was ‘successful’ needs an urgent review, because out of the eight devices I have at home, I had to manually change the time on all eight!” continue reading

From Sancti Spíritus, a resident explains that she set up her Xiaomi phone the night before, following the instructions, but the device still displayed the wrong time. “I had to put my foot down,” she summarizes.

The explanations have failed to appease the protests. Below Etecsa’s own statement, numerous complaints have accumulated from users who claim to have lost their mobile data connection, especially via the 4G network. “I called Customer Service and they told me I had to reconfigure the Nauta APN and restart my phone. I did that, and I’m still having problems,” says Sergio David Roche Díaz.

Another internet user adds a striking detail: “I have two lines on the same phone, and one works fine, but the other doesn’t.” There are also complaints about certain Cubacel numbers and Samsung models, which are unable to access the web browsing service this Sunday. Some recommend temporarily switching to the 3G network, while others claim they can’t connect using that technology either.

In a notice specifically for Cuba, Google acknowledges that the decision was announced too late to update Android before November 1st.

“I’ve tried thousands of times and my phone just won’t connect. It only works through tethering,” writes Yulieta Hernández Díaz. Elaine de Cárdenas Riol also says she can’t use Transfermóvil.

This newspaper had reported on the situation on Friday. Even Google had alerted users to the problem. In a specific notice for Cuba, the company acknowledges that the decision was announced too late to update Android before November 1st. As a temporary solution, it recommends selecting a time zone that remains in UTC-4, such as the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico.

The problem reached international time zone authorities. On October 24, a user identified as Tuenvio sent an urgent request to the IANA public mailing list to warn of the Cuban decision. Two days later, specialist Tim Parenti confirmed that he had located the official announcement but warned of difficulties in distributing the update in time. The new version of the database was released on October 27. Microsoft also announced a fix for Windows during November.

The government estimates that maintaining daylight saving time will prevent a 126-megawatt increase in electricity demand during the evening peak. The measure will remain in effect until November 2027 and requires schools and workplaces to start half an hour later during the winter. For several weeks, the sun will not rise in Havana until after 8:00 a.m.

Morocco’s experience offers a warning.

The decision has precedent. In 2004, during another serious energy crisis, Fidel Castro’s government extended daylight saving time and modified school and work schedules.

Morocco’s experience offers a warning. In 2018, the North African country decided to permanently adopt summer time, also arguing that it would save electricity. However, after nearly eight years of controversy surrounding dark mornings and sleep disruptions, the government reversed course on September 20th. An analysis published in April 2016 estimated that the electricity savings represented only between 0.3% and 0.5% of national consumption. The Minister for Ecological Transition herself had acknowledged that no significant reduction in demand attributable to the measure was observed during the winter.

In Holguín, one resident interprets what happened as yet another example of official decisions that end up complicating daily life. “All they do is pretend to work. They spend the whole year inventing measures so that people think they’re doing something, but the measures end up creating more problems, like that infamous ‘Tarea Ordenamiento’ (Ordering Task),” he tells this newspaper. “Then come the corrections, and more measures. This is never-ending.”

Yanet Durán García, for her part, criticizes the institutions for not informing the public, especially the elderly, with sufficient advance notice. “Stop leaving the people to fend for themselves when it’s your responsibility,” she protests after spending the morning helping several neighbors.

But perhaps Mercedes Fundora Carrasco best sums up the mood of many Cubans. “For my part, I don’t care about any schedule if we don’t even have one anymore, and if we do, it’s only half the time,” she writes on Facebook. “My phone can change whenever it wants,” she adds, before mentioning that many workdays don’t even reach eight hours anymore. For many, the real problem isn’t that the phone is an hour behind, but that daily life stopped functioning normally a long time ago.

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In Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, a Pharmacy Swaps Natural Remedies for Detergent and Shampoo

As the old state apothecary loses its purpose, a nearby parish hands out medicines free of charge to sick people who cannot find them

The establishment occupies a building constructed in the 18th century. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Sancti Spíritus, Mercedes García, November 1, 2026 / The old ceramic jars still sit in their place behind the wooden display cases, as if nothing had changed at the historic natural medicine pharmacy in Sancti Spíritus. On the counters, however, where for decades neighbors came looking for passionflower, linden and other traditional remedies, small plastic containers of shampoo, hair dye, peroxide and detergent are now lined up. The apothecary retains its centuries-old appearance, but it has lost what gave its existence meaning: the medicines.

Located at number 38 South, Máximo Gómez Street, opposite the Iglesia Parroquial Mayor and very close to the Hostal del Rijo, the establishment occupies a building constructed in the 18th century. Its stone floors, its large dark-wood cabinets and its porcelain containers are part of a heritage that has survived the passage of time, though not the deterioration of pharmaceutical services.

“This pharmacy has always been here, for as long as I can remember, with natural products that were in demand among the population,” a neighbor who regularly came to buy passionflower and linden for her mother tells 14ymedio. After finding the premises closed on several occasions, she managed to get in this week and discovered that the remedies she was looking for were no longer there.

“I have nothing against them selling those things, but losing access to natural medicines is something I really don’t like.” / 14ymedio

“Now they sell products that seem to be criollo (domestically made and artisanal), like shampoo, hair dye, peroxide, detergents and mosquito repellent lotion,” she explains. The woman also points to the way the goods are presented, in small plastic bottles with rudimentary labels. “I have nothing against them selling those things, but losing access to natural medicines is something I don’t like at all,” she laments. continue reading

The photographs taken by this newspaper show long rows of blue, yellow and white containers on the pharmacy’s old furniture. Behind them, protected by glass cases, sit the ceramic vessels with inscriptions recalling the names of plants and medicinal preparations. Some shelves are practically empty. The traditional jars seem to have been left behind as decorative pieces in a business that now offers other merchandise.

The transformation is especially striking given the building’s history. A heritage guide to the city notes that the building was restored in 1986 and fitted out as a green medicine pharmacy, with furnishings inspired by the town’s old apothecaries. The recovery of traditional medicines was expressly listed among the objectives of that restoration.

“This pharmacy has always existed, for as long as I can remember, with natural products that were in demand by the community.” / 14ymedio

The case of Sancti Spíritus is not unique on the island. In September 2026, the Peralta Pharmacy, in Holguín, had also been turned into a sort of variety store, with private products sold on consignment and barely a handful of medicines available. One customer who went there looking for drugs found that the offering came down to a few bottles of eye drops.

The disappearance of natural remedies has been underway in Cuba for some time. In July 2025, a pharmacy in Matanzas presented a similar picture of empty shelves. “They have no bottles, they have nothing,” a customer summed up at the time, recalling the days when the establishment itself used to make its own preparations.

In September 2024, the pharmaceutical authorities in Camagüey acknowledged the difficulties in obtaining garlic, onion, oregano, aloe vera, sugar and alcohol, as well as imported raw materials essential for making syrups, extracts and creams. The collapse of agricultural production had ended up affecting even the remedies that for years were promoted as an alternative to industrial medicines.

The irony is greater in Sancti Spíritus, where, just a few steps from this old pharmacy, the Catholic Church distributes medicines free of charge to patients who cannot find them in state establishments. Every Saturday, chronically ill people and their relatives come to the parish with their prescriptions in search of treatments for hypertension, diabetes and other ailments. Anyone who walks into the Máximo Gómez apothecary today looking for a remedy to relieve a headache may leave, at best, with nothing but a bottle of shampoo.

Translated by GH.

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The Prosecutor’s Office Seeks Up to Five Years in Prison for a Protest in Bayamo, Cuba

Nine citizens face prison sentences for demonstrating against power outages and shortages.

Screenshot from one of the videos circulated on social media showing the protest that took place in Bayamo in May 2025. / Social media

14ymedio, Madrid, November 1, 2026 – The municipal Prosecutor’s Office in Bayamo, Granma, has requested sentences of up to five years in prison for nine citizens charged for their participation in the May 23, 2025, protest in that city, according to the provisional conclusions obtained by Martí Noticias. The document concludes the investigative phase and paves the way for a request for an oral trial, with the acts classified as contempt, public disorder, incitement to commit a crime, and resistance.

According to the prosecution’s account, the events took place near the intersection of Vicente Quesada Avenue and 22nd Street, close to a city roundabout. The report describes a gathering of about 120 people, some with their faces covered to avoid being identified, who used cooking pots and other metal objects to make noise and express their discontent.

Among the slogans heard was “We want food, electricity, and water!” The prosecution maintains that “offensive” remarks were also shouted against President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other “historic leaders,” Martí Noticias reports.

One of the main grounds for the prosecution’s request is the alleged altercation with officers from the Ministry of the Interior who arrived at the scene. According to the text, after authorities attempted to engage in dialogue and address the residents’ concerns, the protesters “disrespected them and threw bottles and stones but didn’t injure them,” which, the judicial document adds, “led the police forces to arrest those primarily responsible for the events.”

“They are asking for years in prison because they demanded basic rights from the Government, such as access to water, food, and electricity”

The harshest sentence, five years in prison for public disorder, has been requested for Pedro Luis Zamora Isac. For Alexander Guzmán Silva, the Prosecutor’s Office is seeking four years for contempt, public disorder, and incitement to commit a crime; and for Ever Ernesto Pérez Aliaga, three years for contempt and public disorder.

Also charged is Arael Rodríguez Escalante, who is accused of inciting hostility toward the police through shouting and hostile remarks. The others, Alejandro Vargas Ortiz, Luis Manuel Zamora Guevara, Rosa María Socarrás Moralez, Aleyda Valera Álvarez, and Katia Sucel Estrada Valera, are accused of offenses including resistance and incitement to commit a crime.

The families reject the charges. Ernesto Pérez Aliaga, Ever’s father, categorically denied the charge of contempt in statements to Martí Noticias after learning of the prosecution’s request. “He did not disrespect them,” he said. “In an elegant, peaceful, and calm manner, he did not disrespect anyone.” Meanwhile, Rosa Escalante, Arael’s mother, stated: “They are asking for years in prison because they demanded basic rights from the Government, such as access to water, food, and electricity.”

The protests took place on May 23, 2025. A resident warned Martí Noticias at the time: “This is going to explode again at any moment, because we still have no electricity.”

This is not the first case of its kind in Bayamo. Another 15 Cubans were tried in September 2025 for demonstrating on March 17, 2024, against prolonged power outages and deteriorating living conditions. In that case, the defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to six years.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“Avoid Trouble,” the War on Small Bills in Cuba

Merchants resist accepting low-denomination pesos and customers protest when they receive them as change, in an economy where the dollar already costs 880 pesos

In a small business in Luyanó, Havana, the signs tell the story of the economy better than any official speech. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, October 31, 2026 / Money can also become a nuisance. In Cuba, where prices rise from one day to the next, low-denomination bills are now the poor relation of the national currency. In a small business in Luyanó, in Havana, the signs tell the state of the economy better than any official speech. One announces, in green letters and without beating around the bush, “I buy USD.” Another warns: “If you don’t want change in 20 or 10 peso bills, come with the exact amount. Avoid trouble.”

The warning has something of an ultimatum about it. The merchant wants no arguments over a few pesos that are still legal tender, even though they can be exchanged for fewer and fewer goods and services. The customer, for their part, has no wish to walk out with pockets full of colorful scraps of paper that will hardly be of any use on their next purchase. Between the two, a low-intensity war is being waged, with the counter as the trench and the change as the ammunition.

The problem is not that 10 pesos have stopped being money, but that it is increasingly hard to find anything to buy with them. Inflation has gradually shrunk them into an amount that barely makes a dent in the price of any item. They are disappearing from circulation not by decree, but by a far more implacable sentence: the one handed down by reality. continue reading

The next sign could announce an even more brutal development: “Bills accepted, but try to make sure they’re not Cuban.”

This Saturday, the dollar is trading at 880 pesos on the informal market, a rate that just a few years ago would have seemed absurd and that is now greeted with a mixture of resignation and dread. Each new rise in the US currency pushes the value of the national currency down a little further and fuels the race of prices. The Cuban peso is losing value so fast that it seems to shrink inside your pocket.

That is why the most revealing thing about the Luyanó notice is its last phrase: “Avoid trouble.” It does not recommend checking the merchandise or verifying the amount of the purchase. It simply asks that nobody get upset at receiving low-denomination bills. The next sign could announce an even more brutal development: “Bills accepted, but try to make sure they’re not Cuban.”

Translated by GH.

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Pumpkins, Skeletons, and Blackouts: Halloween Cuban Style

The holiday is gaining followers among young people, who celebrate amid costumes and cobwebs while the darkness in their neighborhoods needs no special effects.

On San Rafael Boulevard in Central Havana, several businesses have decorated their establishments for the occasion. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, October 31, 2026 – In a country where blackouts can last for days, houses threaten to collapse, and getting food has become a suspense movie, Halloween faces some tough competition. Cubans know everyday fear all too well to need imported ghosts. Nevertheless, this October 31, some have decided to trade their usual nightmares for more entertaining ones for a few hours. Among pumpkins, skeletons, and cobwebs, the festival of the dead is gaining ground on an Island where terror rarely takes a vacation.

On San Rafael Boulevard, in Centro Habana, several businesses have decorated their establishments for the occasion. In one shop, a cadaverous figure hangs above the cash register. Pumpkins with sinister smiles and orange cobwebs share space with prices that are even more frightening than the cardboard ghosts.

The celebration has also reached cultural spaces. At El Proyecto, an old mansion at the corner of 11th and 14th Streets in El Vedado, young people dressed as the Joker, nuns, and other characters gathered on Friday to celebrate Halloween. The venue hosted the party while the neighborhood had been without electricity for about 30 hours. The cobwebs were artificial, but the darkness was completely authentic. continue reading

A makeup artist worked by the light of a desk lamp, and the organizers relied on an inverter to keep the equipment running. The manager, Érica Martínez, explained that the venue was established about a year ago to give young people an opportunity to disconnect from reality. Keeping it open, she acknowledged, is becoming increasingly difficult: when electricity is available only sporadically, they have to reduce the lighting to preserve the movie screenings and concerts.

Pumpkins with sinister smiles and orange cobwebs share space with prices that are even more frightening than the cardboard ghosts. / 14ymedio

Marcos Dulzaides, a 22-year-old physical therapist who used his profession as inspiration to dress up as a doctor, told EFE that these celebrations have become popular among his generation, despite the heat and lack of resources. The young man insisted that Halloween cannot be overlooked. In a country where so many things are canceled because of a lack of fuel, electricity, or funding, finding an excuse to have fun already seems like a small act of resistance.

Havana’s program also includes costume parties, concerts, and electronic music sessions. According to the capital’s cultural listings, celebrations are scheduled for this Saturday at Tempo, with tickets costing 2,000 pesos, and at the Ateneo de La Habana, for 500 pesos. The price of entertainment is hardly imaginary for those who depend on a state salary.

The growing popularity of Halloween, however, is not viewed favorably by cultural authorities. In 2019, former minister Abel Prieto included costumes associated with the celebration among the American symbols used by businesses seeking to attract customers. In his article Lo yanqui y lo moderno (All Things American and Modern), published in Granma, he linked these practices to the cultural influence of the United States. In December 2021, he again complained about Halloween’s growing popularity among Cuban teenagers before the deputies of the Assembly.

The concern dates back even further. In 2014, the official journalist Pedro de la Hoz questioned in Granma the decision by state-run establishments to organize Halloween parties. He believed that institutions responsible for preserving national identity should not promote a “neocolonial” assimilation of foreign customs. Apparently, for certain guardians of culture, an American vampire can be more dangerous than a crumbling building.

A sign has been advertising a Terror Party for this Saturday night in the Salón de los Embajadores at the Hotel Habana Libre for several days. / 14ymedio

But even within the official press, more tolerant views have emerged. In October 2025, Radio 26, in Matanzas, proposed celebrating a Halloween with a national identity: costumes inspired by the Güije or the Madre de Agua, batá drums, and pumpkins stuffed with congrí. It was a formula for reconciling Cuban traditions with a celebration that has already found followers among young people.

Despite official reluctance, the celebration has ultimately established itself even in state-run venues. A sign at the central intersection of L and 23rd Streets in Havana’s El Vedado neighborhood has been advertising a Terror Party for this Saturday night in the Salón de los Embajadores at the Hotel Habana Libre for several days, just a few meters from the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television, from which some of the most vehement denunciations of the holiday have been broadcast.

Meanwhile, reality insists on outdoing any stage set. This Friday, numerous Havana neighborhoods had been without electricity for more than 40 hours. Water shortages, spoiling food, and businesses brought to a standstill are all part of a repertoire of horrors considerably less entertaining than a zombie movie.

In other countries, Halloween ends when midnight arrives and the monsters return to the closet. In Cuba, the costumes will be put away, but the blackouts, lines, and shored-up buildings will remain where they were. The problem is not that Cubans celebrate a night of terror, but that when dawn breaks, the nightmares continue.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cupet Resumes Gas Cylinder Sales in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, at a Price of 80 Dollars, Cash Only

The price of a gas cylinder is equivalent to 22 monthly minimum wages at today’s exchange rate.

Cupet commercial outlet in Sancti Spíritus, where gas cylinders are sold for 80 dollars in cash. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, October 31, 2026 – The state-owned company Unión Cuba-Petróleo (Cupet) charges as much as 80 dollars for a liquefied gas cylinder in the city of Sancti Spíritus, as 14ymedio was able to verify. The new 20-pound cylinders, filled and supplied with their fittings, are offered at that price at the state company’s main outlet and at two other locations in the city, one in the Colón neighborhood and the other in Los Olivos.

Payment must also be made in cash. And that does not make buying gas any easier: those interested must put their names on a list and wait their turn, depending on availability.

At the Cupet outlet on Santa Elena Street, in the same city, the arrangement is different. There, a cylinder is offered for 55 dollars, provided the customer hands over an empty one to be refilled. These sales are restricted to healthcare workers, bank employees, and employees of previously authorized workplaces.

To put the cost of the product in perspective, the minimum wage in Cuba is 3,210 pesos per month, equivalent to about 3.65 dollars at the informal exchange rate of 880 pesos per dollar recorded today. Thus, an 80-dollar cylinder costs almost 22 times the monthly minimum wage, while a 55-dollar cylinder costs the equivalent of about 15 times that amount. continue reading

The new 20-pound cylinders, filled and supplied with their fittings, are offered for 80 dollars at the state company’s main outlet and at two other locations in the city

Sancti Spíritus had gone without regular state sales of liquefied gas since October 2025. The interruption had fueled the black market, where 10-kilogram cylinders came to be offered for as much as 70,000 Cuban pesos, equivalent to the 80 dollars they cost today. The resumption of Cupet sales provides an alternative for those who can afford it, but dollar-denominated prices and restrictions on access do little to meet the population’s needs.

This situation has contributed to crime in the province. Earlier this month, two people from Sancti Spíritus were sentenced to 12 and 10 years in prison, respectively, for stealing gas cylinders from more than 20 homes. Two other people involved received prison sentences of two and a half years and two years for participating in the resale of the stolen cylinders and illegally marketing the fuel using other consumers’ contracts. The case illustrates the extent to which scarcity has turned a household necessity into a prized commodity for criminals.

The resumption of state gas sales, now in dollars, and the outrage it has provoked among customers in Sancti Spíritus coincide with reports of a similar situation on the Isle of Youth. According to accounts posted on social media by residents of the special municipality, Cupet sells cylinders there for 89 dollars.

“This is a complete lack of respect for the Cuban people, an outrageous contempt and an unjustifiable abuse toward us,” a woman complained on Facebook. The post reflects consumers’ frustration with prices that are beyond their reach. “It’s the feeling that you scream and nobody listens; that you file complaints and everything stays the same. And that wears you down. It exhausts you. It hurts,” the woman from the Isle of Youth wrote.

“This is a complete lack of respect for the Cuban people, an outrageous contempt and an unjustifiable abuse toward us”

In response to the energy crisis and supply shortages on the Island, the Cuban Government has presented the sale of liquefied gas in foreign currency as an alternative for financing fuel imports. However, the experience of recent months shows that having sales outlets that accept dollars does not guarantee a stable supply or resolve the difficulties faced by those who do not have foreign currency.

Last June, 14ymedio confirmed that the gas cylinders sold by ProGas through the KMCero platform were priced at 24 dollars and resold for 50, although some buyers in Havana reportedly paid as much as 100 dollars for a single cylinder. The company, presented as a private business, used facilities and logistical channels linked to the state-owned Cupet, while numerous consumers continued to go without their usual allocations.

Two months later, in August, ProGas sales outlets closed again after running out of stock, according to accounts gathered by this newspaper. Customers complained that they could not obtain gas either in pesos or in foreign currency.

Last June, the United States added state-owned Cupet to its list of sanctioned entities, a measure that blocks the company’s assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits transactions with it. Washington justified the decision by citing the company’s relationship with the military conglomerate Gaesa. The sanctions add obstacles to fuel import, processing, and distribution operations in Cuba and worsen the energy crisis the country has been experiencing for years.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Six Traffickers Who Charged Cuban Migrants Up to $40,000 Are Sentenced in Florida

The network used false documents, private flights, and fraudulent asylum applications to bring its clients into the US and laundered more than $22 million

Reception area of Asesoría y Servicios Migratorios LLC, a company linked to human trafficking and run by Cubans. / Instagram/Asesoria y Servicios Migratorios LLC

14ymedio, Havana, October 31, 2026 / Six members of a network that charged up to $40,000 to illegally transport Cuban migrants to the United States were sentenced this Thursday by a federal court in Florida to between two and four years in prison. The organization, whose members also committed asylum application fraud, laundered more than $22 million between 2021 and 2025, as reported by the US Department of Justice.

The longest sentence, four years in prison, went to Liannys Yaiselys Vega Pérez, 27, who ran an immigration services company that filed hundreds of fraudulent asylum applications. Layra Libertad Treto Santos, 30, received 30 months, while Miguel Martínez Vasconcelos, Luis Emmanuel Escalona Marrero, Walbis Pozo Dutel, and Emanuel Martínez González were sentenced to two years each. All six had pleaded guilty.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of $2.9 million from Escalona Marrero, $150,000 from Martínez Vasconcelos, and $95,000 from Treto Santos.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of $2.9 million from Escalona Marrero, $150,000 from Martínez Vasconcelos, and $95,000 from Treto Santos

The network recruited clients through social media and offered flights, travel permits, and immigration paperwork. Some Cubans entered through the border with Mexico, while others used Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approvals obtained with false information. On occasion, the traffickers chartered private planes to transport groups of migrants. continue reading

According to the authorities, the organization passed off Cuban applicants as European travelers and falsely declared that they had not been in Cuba since 2011. Once in the United States, many went to the company Asesoría y Servicios Migratorios, based in Tampa, to file asylum applications based on invented stories.

Some clients were unable to review their applications before they were submitted or to access their own accounts with US immigration services. Vega Pérez, who was neither a lawyer nor an accredited representative, admitted to having directed employees who prepared fraudulent documents.

Among the cases examined by investigators is that of a Cuban minor whose journey was organized from Havana to Miami, via Grand Cayman. Records indicate that she arrived at Miami International Airport in October 2023, after her fraudulent ESTA authorization had been canceled, and was granted a permit to enter the country.

A woman told federal investigators that Frandy Aragón Díaz, another of the defendants, charged her $40,000 for the trip. The victim worked to pay off the debt while living with him in Tampa and, during a call monitored by the authorities, the man demanded payment and threatened her family, according to a criminal complaint whose contents were reported by the Miami Herald. Aragón Díaz remains a fugitive.

The organization was dismantled in September 2025, when US authorities identified twelve people involved

The organization was dismantled in September 2025, when US authorities identified twelve people involved. Investigators established that it had begun operating in January 2021 and continued moving people until June 2025. Its members used front companies, bank accounts, and payment apps to move the money obtained from the migrants.

Of the others involved in the organization, Lázaro Alain Cabrera Rodríguez, found guilty in September of using a travel agency as a front and submitting at least 600 false ESTA applications, is still awaiting sentencing. Yuniel Lima Santos and Gisleivy Peralta Consuegra are in the same situation, while Marianny Lucía López Torres and Frandy Aragón Díaz remain fugitives.

Lima Santos had pleaded guilty in August to migrant smuggling, asylum fraud, and money laundering. The Cuban admitted to having transported women who ended up working in strip clubs to pay off the debts they had incurred for their journeys.

US courts have prosecuted other migrant smuggling networks linked to Cubans. In March, a jury convicted Víctor Rafael Arcia Albeja, a member of an organization that held and beat migrants from the island to demand up to $15,000 from their relatives. In July, Juan Manuel Sifontes Sinales was sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegally transporting 25 migrants of various nationalities. The Cuban will be deported after serving his sentence.

Translated by GH.

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La Cumbre, a Neighborhood in Matanzas Where the Streets Stayed in the Last Century

Potholes, stones, and dust complicate the daily lives of residents, who have been waiting for decades for repairs that never come

In some blocks, the streets have lost even the appearance of streets. They are dirt tracks, gravel and stones, dotted with ditches that widen with rain and deepen with neglect. / 14ymedio.

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, October 31, 2026 / The morning sun falls on the loose stones and remnants of asphalt in La Cumbre, a neighborhood in Matanzas where walking demands as much attention as crossing rugged terrain. The dew still dampens the grass growing on both sides of the streets, while mothers send their children off with a warning repeated every day: watch out for the hole on the corner, don’t get to school with your shoes full of mud.

On some blocks, the streets have lost even the appearance of streets. They are paths of dirt, gravel, and stones, dotted with ditches that the rains widen and neglect deepens. Among cinder-block houses, rusty metal gates, and makeshift fences, residents make their way around the obstacles. A man pushes a bicycle up a stony slope. Another drags a cart loaded with sacks, accompanied by a dog that seems to know every dip and bump in the path by heart.

Among cinder-block houses, rusty metal gates, and makeshift fences, residents make their way around the obstacles

“When I have to go in and out of my block without being able to ride my bicycle, it feels like I’m living in the countryside and not in the city,” complains Argelio, as he tries to control the handlebars shaking over the stones. For those who depend on bicycles or mopeds, every outing can end with a flat tire, a fall, or a visit to the mechanic. continue reading

Although the shortest route to the Vía Blanca runs through here, some stretches have been impassable for four-wheeled vehicles for decades. “There are places where bits of sidewalk are still left, but on this block we step straight out onto grass and dirt. No shoe sole lasts six months like this,” adds Argelio.

La Cumbre also displays its social differences. Alongside humble homes, roofed with fiber cement and surrounded by weeds, there are two-story buildings, freshly painted facades, ornamental grilles, and water tanks on the rooftops. However, not even a comfortable house guarantees a decent way in. From the porch outward, everyone shares the same landscape of neglect.

Some sections have been closed to four-wheeled vehicles for decades. / 14ymedio

Freddy, a private taxi driver, knows this contradiction well. Every month he pays rent on a garage eight blocks from his home because his old Moskvich can no longer get to his door. The last few times he braved the potholes, he ended up in a repair shop. Now, one of the most troublesome holes is right in front of his house.

The self-employed worker says that successive Government officials have ignored the neighborhood’s complaints. Accountability meetings and letters sent to the Citizen Services office of the Municipal People’s Power have not managed to bring the pavement back to La Cumbre.

“I want to sell my house or swap it, but when interested people come to see the place, they then vanish,” laments Freddy. The deterioration of the streets also ends up hurting the value of homes and the chances of moving.

When it doesn’t rain, the few vehicles that manage to get through the passable stretches raise a cloud of dust that seeps in through doors and windows. When a downpour comes, the holes turn into small ponds of uncertain depth. Residents swing between wishing for rain to relieve the dust and dreading it for the mud it leaves behind.

When it doesn’t rain, the few vehicles that manage to get through the passable stretches raise a cloud of dust that seeps in through doors and windows

“Not long ago, turning the corner here, my moped slid into a ditch and I had to react fast, because I almost fell,” recalls a social worker who keeps her windows closed to stop the dirt from invading her home.

The young woman says that, months ago, work began on a house on an empty lot. A rumor then spread that it would be for an important official, and some residents got excited. Perhaps, they thought, the arrival of a boss would achieve what years of neighborhood complaints had not. But the hope soon faded when it became known that the house was not for an official.

“Meanwhile, we’ll keep waiting for the 2030 plan to pave all this for us, which will then be postponed to 2040 because of the tightening of the blockade,” the woman says ironically.

In La Cumbre there are still those who carefully dust the ornaments on their shelves, sweep their porches, and put on their best shoes to go out. But they only have to step out the door for that effort to stumble against reality. The neighborhood keeps its lofty name [cumbre means “summit”], although its residents have been waiting far too long for the authorities to rise to the level of their needs.

Translated by GH

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“Neither Customers Nor Electricity”: Blackouts Lasting More Than 40 Hours Are Choking Havana

The lack of electricity adds to water shortages and the collapse of tourism, while Cuba’s main thermoelectric plant remains out of service.

“Neither customers nor electricity,” said the vendors at the San José warehouses in Havana’s port. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, October 30, 2026 – A discharged phone, a piece of chicken beginning to thaw, and several empty containers waiting for water. In Cuba, the blackout is no longer measured solely in hours without electricity, but also in the number of problems it leaves in its wake. This Friday, numerous Havana neighborhoods had accumulated power cuts lasting more than 40 hours, during a week marked by the worsening energy crisis on the Island.

In Luyanó, Yusnel went out to charge his phone in another electrical circuit after more than 20 hours without power. “I have an EcoFlow, but it couldn’t hold out. With this many hours without electricity, no battery can hold up,” he tells 14ymedio. Portable power stations, which provide some relief amid the blackouts, also end up succumbing when the interruption lasts nearly two days.

In Nuevo Vedado, where this newspaper’s newsroom is located, the electricity was out for 41 consecutive hours. “Today I got up at four in the morning to cook the little piece of chicken I had left in the freezer because it wasn’t going to be in good condition by lunchtime,” says a woman who lives in a nearby high-rise building on Tulipán Street. She describes how the lack of electricity has also disrupted her family’s routines.

At a pizzeria in Old Havana, several customers waited in front of the counter this morning. / 14ymedio

“My daughter, who is a doctor, didn’t go to the hospital today because she had no clean clothes to wear, and we didn’t send my little granddaughter to school. What for? To suffer through the heat and probably find that the teacher wasn’t there?” she asks. continue reading

The power cuts offer no respite to small businesses either. At a pizzeria in Old Havana, several customers waited in front of the counter this morning while employees tried to bake and serve food using the scant natural light coming in from the street. At the San José warehouses, a saleswoman arranged souvenirs in the gloom, in front of a T-shirt bearing the face of Ernesto Che Guevara.

“Neither customers nor electricity,” declared a vendor selling paintings in the immense establishment, located in an old pier building, as he fanned away his sweat with a piece of cardboard. “When the day is cooler, you can put up with it and stay here for hours and hours without selling anything, but with the heat and no electricity to run the fan, and on top of that no tourists, it’s torture.”

The blackout comes as the tourism sector is experiencing one of its worst periods. According to official figures, just 27,354 international tourists arrived in Cuba in September, a collapse that leaves sellers of handicrafts and souvenirs with little chance of making up for the losses caused by the power cuts.

This Friday, a man pedaled beneath the elevated railway tracks near the Ensenada de Atarés, carrying two large containers of drinking water on his bicycle. / 14ymedio

But the lack of electricity is only one part of Cubans’ harsh daily reality. This Friday, a man pedaled beneath the elevated railway tracks near the Ensenada de Atarés, carrying two large containers of drinking water on his bicycle. Scenes of handcarts, jerrycans, and tanks being hauled from one municipality to another have become increasingly common in the Cuban capital.

Aguas de La Habana acknowledged that the extensive power cuts on the 28th and 29th had affected practically all the main water supply sources, including Cuenca Sur, Ariguanabo, El Gato, and Palatino. The company warned of widespread delays and announced adjustments to distribution schedules. In high-rise buildings, where water also depends on internal pumping systems, the lack of electricity has multiplied the difficulties.

The national outlook offers no grounds for anticipating an immediate improvement either. The Electric Union (UNE) reported that this Friday the Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas, the country’s most important thermoelectric plant, remained out of service, along with units at Santa Cruz, Felton, and Renté. For the period of peak demand, the UNE forecasts a shortfall of 1,990 megawatts, against an estimated demand of 2,800.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Fragments of a Nation

The torn flag flying at the Capitol seems to reflect Cuba’s wounds, aggravated by a diplomacy that has replaced arguments with bullying.

A Cuban flag was torn at the Capitol building in Havana on Wednesday. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, October 28, 2026 / A Cuban flag, in tatters, flies over Havana’s Capitol Building. The national emblem seems to have lost the battle against the wind and neglect. Its blue and white stripes are torn, and the red color of the triangle has lost strength. It is as broken as the country it represents, an island with diplomats who promote the same gag orders around the world that have been imposed on us here at home.

Yesterday, while this tattered banner flapped near the columns and dome of Havana’s imposing building, another scene unfolded in New York, revealing the decay of our public life. The official Cuban delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, staged an act of repudiation against the United States ambassador to the United Nations. Shouts, banging on the table, and even an attempt to mute Mike Waltz’s microphone made up the disgraceful spectacle.

The method is painfully familiar. Faced with an inconvenient opinion, the Cuban regime has systematically opted to raise its voice, raise its fist, and throw people into jail. When someone tries to argue their disagreement, a barrage of vile insults rain down on them. This attitude has also shaped a diplomacy of bullying, a school of international relations where offense is intended to replace reason and violence is taught as a legitimate response to disagreement.

What happened in New York was not an anomaly: it was a reflection of domestic behavior on an international stage

For years, the Castro regime has displayed its worst political practices abroad. The denigration of adversaries, the contempt for ideological diversity, and the need to turn every exchange into a show of force are all part of this nefarious legacy. What happened in New York was not an anomaly: it was a reflection of domestic behavior on an international stage. continue reading

While it is difficult not to feel embarrassed for these officials, it is worth remembering that those who stage these scenes don’t represent all Cubans. They don’t speak for those of us who endure endless blackouts, for the mothers who say goodbye to their children at airports, nor for the political prisoners who have been demanding their freedom for years. That loud, rude picket line is not the face of this country, no matter how often they repeat it.

Lamentably, in front ofthe cameras and international organizations, their actions end up being associated with our nationality. This constitutes yet another form of dispossession, after they have already appropriated our common symbols and used them in the name of a party, an ideology, and a family clan that considers itself the perpetual owner of this country.

The flag at the Capitol also belongs to the Cuban who protested in the streets on 11 July 2021, to the one who emigrated in search of civil and personal liberties, to the one who remains silent out of fear, and to the one who still believes a democratic opening is possible in this land. No diplomat has more right to it than a dissident who envisions an island without censorship. No functionary can claim a monopoly on that lone star while threatening those who disagree with their doctrine.

Perhaps in the coming days they will replace the tattered flag flying at the Capitol. A ladder and a few minutes will be enough to raise a new one on the flagpole. But repairing the nation will be far more difficult. Rebuilding our nation will require abandoning violence as a political language, accepting pluralism, and understanding that national dignity is not defended through a diplomacy of outrage. Until this process of accepting differences begins, we will remain a broken nation, shattered into pieces.

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