Corruption
Trafficking in Goods, a Strategy to Survive in Cuba
Trafficking in Goods, a Strategy to Survive in Cuba / Iván García Iván García, 28 June 2017 — On Havana there are illegal stores for all tastes. Pirated jeans at 20 CUC, copies of Nike shoes at 40 CUC and imitation Swiss watches at 50 CUC. People with higher purchasing power mark the difference. By […] Continue reading
Cavities and Abscesses in the Oral Health System
Cuba: Cavities and Abscesses in the Oral Health System / Juan Juan Almeida Juan Juan Almeida, 23 June 2017 — Located in the stately building with its exquisite art-deco style, at the Havana intersection of Salvador Allende Avenue (formerly Carlos III) and G Street, is the Cuban symbol of the oral health system. Officially known […] Continue reading
Cuban Couple Prefers to Face the Jungle Rather Than the Law in Cuba
Cuban Couple Prefers to Face the Jungle Rather Than the Law in Cuba 14ymedio, Mario J. Penton, Panama City, 2 July 2017 – They managed to escape Cuba to leave behind traces of corruption and negligence that, according to Yudenny Sao Labrado and her husband Yoendry Batista, reflect the prevailing system on the island. From […] Continue reading
How President Trump can borrow from US Cuba policy to squeeze Beijing on North Korea
How President Trump can borrow from US Cuba policy to squeeze Beijing on North Korea Asia, Foreign and Defense Policy The New York Times reports that “President Trump, frustrated by China’s unwillingness to lean on North Korea, has told the Chinese leader that the United States is prepared to act on its own in pressuring […] Continue reading
Tourism Boom Chokes Havana’s Airport
Tourism Boom Chokes Havana’s Airport 14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 4 July 2017 — The passengers leave the plane and make their way around the buckets catching the leaks from the roof. They still have a long wait in at baggage claim and have to suffer under the air conditioning that hardly alleviates the heat. The […] Continue reading
They fled to avoid prosecution from a web of corruption that is part of daily life in Cuba
They fled to avoid prosecution from a web of corruption that is part of daily life in Cuba BY MARIO J. PENTÓN mpenton@elnuevoherald.com PANAMA CITY, PANAMA The couple fled Cuba to avoid the web of corruption and negligence that they say reflects what is normal life on the island. They got stranded in Panama, but […] Continue reading
Annexationism among Cubans
Annexationism among Cubans HILDEBRANDO CHAVIANO MONTES | La Habana | 29 de Junio de 2017 – 00:20 CEST. A group of Cuban intellectuals gather at Cuban TV’s Round Table (a misnomer) to analyze (once again) Donald Trump’s alteration of America’s policies towards the Cuban Government. They insist on accusing US leadership of harboring annexationist intentions, […] Continue reading
A Bad Bet
A Bad Bet / Fernando Damaso Fernando Dámaso, 13 June 2017 — Of the real and supposed problems that the Cuban Revolution proposed to solve, as the basis of its historical necessity, after more than half a century of exercising absolute power, many have not been solved, the majority have been aggravated, and others have […] Continue reading
The true face of GAESA in Havana’s Historic Quarter
The true face of GAESA in Havana’s Historic Quarter ROLANDO MARTÍNEZ | La Habana | 22 de Junio de 2017 – 11:27 CEST. “What has the change from Habaguanex to GAESA been like?” “Disastrous.” “Why?” “Because the military management is inept. They demand too much and want to intimidate us. Imagine: if you refuse to […] Continue reading
Trump Gets It Right
Editorial: Trump Gets It Right DDC | Madrid | 22 de Junio de 2017 – 11:23 CEST. In his speech in Miami, US President Donald Trump rightly divided Cuban society into two groups: the military and the people. And his criticism of the regime did not center on its ideology, on the single party, or […] Continue reading
The End Of The Cycle For Two Caudillos
The End Of The Cycle For Two Caudillos 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 12 June 2017 — His mother died, his brother emigrated and now no one brings flowers to the tomb of one of those many young Cubans who lost their lives on the African plains. His death served to build the authoritarian regime of […] Continue reading
Drug smuggling a risk if US relations with Cuba shift, officials say
Drug smuggling a risk if US relations with Cuba shift, officials say By Patrick Oppmann, CNN Updated 1005 GMT (1805 HKT) June 12, 2017 Havana, Cuba (CNN)For Cuban officials on the front lines of the fight against drug trafficking, the Trump administration’s threat to roll back improved relations between the United States and the communist-run […] Continue reading
The Cuban Government, Complicit in Corruption and Peddling Favours
The Cuban Government, Complicit in Corruption and Peddling Favours / Iván García Iván García, 26 MAY 2017 — Ideology is no longer the most important consideration if you want to get an administrative position in Cuba’s chaotic business and commercial network. They only ask you to do two things: fake support for the autocracy and […] Continue reading
Cuba: Socialism, Private Property and Wealth
Cuba: Socialism, Private Property and Wealth June 8, 2017 By Fernando Ravsberg HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban Parliament has finally approved the groundwork for the reforms process put forward by President Raul Castro and his government. However, it has done so with some reserves, the most sensitive subject seems to revolve around private businesses and […] Continue reading
The Swamp Of Wealth
The Swamp Of Wealth 14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 6 June 2017 — Almost a quarter of a century ago, the government launched a battle against illicit income that ended with the detention of dozens of criminals but also of prosperous entrepreneurs. During the dreaded Operation Flowerpot, you could be denounced just for having […] Continue reading
Autonomy of Cuban Dissidents Will Always Be Beneficial
Autonomy of Cuban Dissidents Will Always Be Beneficial / Iván García Iván García, 1 June 2017– The majority of the openly anti-Castro opponents I know do not live in lavish mansions nor do they possess items fashioned with the latest technology. Neither do they boast bank accounts in financial paradises and they do not own […] Continue reading
Cuba, Pensioners and Respect for the Law
Cuba, Pensioners and Respect for the Law May 29, 2017 Jimmy Roque Martinez HAVANA TIMES — Some people usually sell goods on Tulipan Street, in the Revolution Square municipality, just like they do in almost every neighborhood throughout the country. Generally-speaking, these are industrial and/or craft goods, and the people selling them are people aged […] Continue reading
War Vocation in the “Peace Zone”
War Vocation in the “Peace Zone” Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 31 May 2017 — A brief note published by the official Cuban press reports the meeting held by “General of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz” with “the Chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army, Timoleón Jiménez” (FARC-EP), where the former “ratified the willingness […] Continue reading
Havana: Clandestine Business Deals, Poverty and Glamor
Havana: Clandestine Business Deals, Poverty and Glamor / Iván García Ivan Garcia, 26 April 2017 — When night falls, it’s not advisable to walk through certain neighborhoods in Havana. Like the one from El Curita Park, on Reina and Galiano, up to the corner of Monte and Cienfuegos. In addition to the disagreeable odor from […] Continue reading
The Future Is Built With Cement … But There Isn’t Any
The Future Is Built With Cement … But There Isn’t Any 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 26 May 2017 — The cranes show off their slender anatomy in some areas of Havana where several luxury hotels are being built. Apart from this landscape of progress, private construction and repairs face technological problems and shortages. This week […] Continue reading
In Cuba, nothing is allowed but everything happens
Derek B. Miller: In Cuba, nothing is allowed but everything happens By Derek B Miller Published: May 24, 2017 10:00 a.m. Updated: May 23, 2017 1:21 p.m. Utah business and community leaders recently visited Cuba on a fact-finding mission and discovered a beautiful country with welcoming people. Asked at every turn where we were from, […] Continue reading
The Cuban Regime is an Enemy to the Freedom of Expression
The Cuban Regime is an Enemy to theFreedom of Expression / Iván García Ivan Garcia, 10 May 2017 — When he is particularly bored, after flicking through the eight channels that there are on the island, 56 year old civil engineer Josuan watches the national news some nights with a smirk only to later write […] Continue reading
Cuba a mix of corruption, impressive beauty, people
Cuba a mix of corruption, impressive beauty, people By Amelia Rayno / Minneapolis Star Tribune The uniformed woman’s eyes narrowed as she looked me up and down, assessing. Seconds earlier, she had told me that the currency exchange was one floor up at the Havana airport. Now, after processing my poor Spanish, blond hair and […] Continue reading
Happiness
Happiness / Somos+ Somos+, Roberto Camba, 21 March 2017 — The United Nations has just launched the 2017 World Happiness Report, coinciding with the World Happiness Day on March 20th. From its first publication in 2012, the world has come to understand more and more that happiness has to be used as the correct measure […] Continue reading
Corruption Versus Liberty: A Cuban Dilemma
Corruption Versus Liberty: A Cuban Dilemma / Dimas Castellano Dimas Castellanos, 18 November 2016 — The evil of corruption–the act of corruption and its effects–has accompanied the human species since its emergence. It has been present in all societies and in all ages. Its diverse causes range from personal conduct to the political-economic system of […] Continue reading
How Cuban State Security Intimidates Potential Informants
How Cuban State Security Intimidates Potential Informants / Iván García Iván García,9 April 2017 — They did not put a Makarov pistol to his head or torture him with electric prods. Let’s call him Josué. (The names in his article have been changed). He is a guy who wears American-made jeans, listens to jazz by […] Continue reading
Social justice in Cuba? No racism?
Commentary: Social justice in Cuba? No racism? Javier Garcia-Bengochea Guest Columnist Privacy Policy It ain’t what you don’t know that hurts you. It’s what you think you know that just ain’t so … Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige paraphrasing Mark Twain. It’s called fake news. For decades, Cuba has promoted a false narrative regarding […] Continue reading
Should U.S. Companies Hit ‘Pause’ on Doing Business in Cuba?
Should U.S. Companies Hit ‘Pause’ on Doing Business in Cuba? Apr 20, 2017 President Trump’s government has yet to reveal its hand on the issue of reconciliation with Cuba. There had been a lot of progress towards greater ties following President’s Obama’s overtures in December 2014: Some cooperation agreements were signed – particularly in aviation […] Continue reading
Cuba: Risk of Health Crisis Due to Lack of Potable Water
Cuba: Risk of Health Crisis Due to Lack of Potable Water / Iván García Ivan Garcia, 21 April 2017 — There is a slightly damp and cold breeze when Antonio, after drinking a rather bitter sip of coffee, with his wooden cart with rusty steel wheels, moves to a water spout in Manglar Street, very […] Continue reading
When Your Ally’s Beards are on Fire
When Your Ally’s Beards are on Fire*… / Miriam Celaya Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 18 April 2017 — According to an old adage, when you see you neighbor’s beard on fire, go soak your own*. The maxim should be applied to the elderly Cuban dictator, especially if we take into account that the erratic performance […] Continue reading
Cuba Searches for its “Lost” Money
Cuba Searches for its “Lost” Money April 11, 2017 By Eileen Sosin Martinez* (Progreso Semanal) HAVANA TIMES — In my neighborhood, the story about Juan the butcher, who took a detour with a truck full of minced meat, sold it and then left the country, is famous. “It’s a good thing he left,” a neighbor […] Continue reading