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New images taken during the ISA protest
These new images didn't appear on the
other 2 videos that I posted before.
American contractor is being held in high-security Cuban prison
Dec. 15 - A U.S. government
subcontractor was put in a high-security Cuban prison instead of a
common jail after his arrest in Havana as he was about to take a flight
home, U.S. congressional officials said Monday.
The type of prison signaled that Cuban
authorities are taking seriously the case of the U.S. citizen,
reportedly detained for handing out laptops, cellphones and other
communications equipment as part of a U.S. government program to support
democracy in Cuba.
How much is she getting paid for each "mitín de repudio"?
These photos published in
PenultimosDias show the
same woman participating in the "mitín de repudio" against Yoani
Sánchez's husband, Reinaldo Escobar, on November 20 and against the
Ladies in White on December 10.
One more proof that these are not
"spontaneous" citizen protests, as the regime claims, but paid thugs
controlled by Cuba's State Security.
Cuban students protest for the terrible food and lack of freedom
The students of the Instituto Superior
del Arte (ISA) protest for the terrible food that they receive and for
the lack of freedom to express what they really feel.
The protest took place on October 22,
2009.
Part I
Part II
Andy García: I feel Cuba
A beautiful video narrated by the Cuban
born actor
Another video showing the real conditions of the hospitals in Cuba for
regular citizens
Video taken at the Hijas de Galicia
Maternity Hospital in Havana, on June of this year.
In any civilized country, a hospital
like this one would be closed by the health authorities.
Not even an animal hospital would be
allowed to remain open under such filthy conditions.
Fidel Castro would have died years ago
if he was forced to go to one of these hospitals.
Next time a Castro apologist, like
Michael Moore, claims that Cubans receive excellent health care thanks to
the Castro brothers, send him this video.
Cuban regime detains a U.S. government contract worker (UPDATED)
Dec. 13 - According to The Miami
Herald, the man arrested in Cuba is an American and was handing out
computers and communications equipment 'on behalf of the Obama
administration.'
The man arrested ``was an employee of a
program subcontractor, which was implementing a . . . subcontract to
assist Cuban civil society organizations,'' said Development
Alternatives Inc., (DAI) a suburban Washington firm supervising some $40
million in U.S. government aid for pro-democracy programs in Cuba.
Two persons involved with U.S.
government grants for Cuba programs said they were not surprised by the
man's arrest because of recent changes in the procedures that sidelined
experienced Cuban-American groups and then rushed large amounts of money
to groups with little knowledge of the island.
Cuba's security agents pay
special attention to single American men with tourist visas, one of the
persons said, "and Americans are just not used to looking over their
shoulder when they are in a totalitarian state.''
The Miami Herald
"If I wanted to slip something into
China, I would not use an American. I would use a Chinese-American who
can blend in,'' he added.
Dec. 11 - A United States government
contract worker, who was distributing cellphones, laptops and other
communications equipment in Cuba on behalf of the Obama administration,
has been detained by the authorities here, American officials said
Friday.
The officials said the contractor, who
works for a company based in the Washington suburbs, was detained Dec.
5. They said the United States Interests Section in Havana was awaiting
Cuba’s response to a request for consular access to the man, who was not
identified.
The detention and the
mysterious circumstances surrounding it threaten to reignite tensions
between the countries at a time when both had promised to open new
channels of engagement. American officials said they were encouraged
that the Cubans had not publicized the detention, and they said they
were hopeful that he might be quietly released.
New York Times
Video of the pro-Castro mob attacking the Ladies in White in Havana on
December 10, 2009
Yusnaimi was released on Thursday afternoon. Listen to our interview
with her
Dec. 10 - Yusnaimi Jorge Soca, the wife
of Dr. Darsi Ferrer, was released on Thursday afternoon, approximately 7
hours after she was arreste by Castro's Gestapo when she tried to
participate in a march to commemorate the International Human Rights
Day.
Last night, I was a guest onConversa Cuba Companionion Blog Talk Radio and was
able to reach Yusnaimi at her home in Havana and she explained
everything that happened on Thursday.
Listen to the audio:
CNN video of the demonstrations (Courtesy of cubanews)
Did the Castro brothers forget to bring portable toilets for their paid
mob?
It seems that some of those thugs,
hired by the Castro brothers to harass the Ladies in White and the other
dissidents who were trying to commemorate the International Human Rights
Day, were not allowed to take time off to go to the bathroom.
A closer look at this woman, who is
seen in several photos harassing the Ladies in White, seems to indicate
that.
British diplomat forced to leave the park where the demonstration took
place
Dec. 10 - Chris Stimpson, second
secretary of the British Embassy was surrounded by a pro Castro mob
today when he visited Parque Villalón, where Cuban dissidents were
planning to hold a demonstration to commemorate the International Human
Rights Day.
Stimpson was escorted to his car by
Cuban police, and several of the demonstrators pounded on the car after
he got inside.
In the photo above, Stimpson is shown
trying to speak to international reporters while being interrupted by
the demonstrators, organized and controlled by the Cuban regime.
More photos of today's demonstrations in Havana
Laura Pollan, of the Ladies in White,
being surrounded by the mob organized by the Cuban regime.
Other members of the Ladies in White,
wearing white t-shirts, being pushed and harassed by the pro-Castro
thugs.
Dr. Dasi Ferrer's wife arrested (UPDATED)
2:20 PM - I was able to get through and
spoke with Yusnaimi's brother.
He said that she left for the march
around 10:30 AM EST with another 3 persons.
Before she was able to reach the Parque
Villalon, where the demonstration was going to take place, she was
detained by State Security agents, beaten and pushed into a Lada
automobile, like the ones normally used by Castro's Gestapo.
The other 3 people who were with her
were not detained.
As of now, almost 4 hours later, the
family doesn't know where she is being held.
Yusmaini's brother also told me that he
spoke with Laura Pollán, member of The Ladies in White, and she said
that several of the women were beaten this morning when they tried to
reach Parque Villalon.
2 PM - I have not been able to
reestablish connection with Yusmaini.
Dissident sources in Cuba are reporting
that several dissidents that tried to demonstrate at Parque Villalón
were arrested and many of them were beaten by police.
The Ladies in White also joined those
who were demonstrating this morning to commemorate the International
Human Rights Day.
Dec. 10 - I spoke early this morning
with Yusnaimi Jorge Soca, the wife of Cuban dissident Dr. Darsi Ferrer
who is currently in jail for planning a peaceful march in Havana last
July.
Each December 10, Dr. Ferrer, his wife
and several Cuban dissidents have marched at a park in Havana to
commemorate the International Human Rights Day.
Last year, Dr. Ferrer and his wife were
attacked by a mob organized by Cuba's State Security. You can see
the photographs of last year march here:
Castro's Gulag
Yusnaimi told me that two dissidents
who were planning to participate in today's march, Rafael Ernesto Avila
and Litvio Fernandez, have already been arrested this morning by Cuban
police.
The march is supposed to start at 11 AM
Cuba time, 10 AM EST.
Yusnaimi said that she can see several
Cuban agents posted outside her home and she doesn't know if they'll
arrest her when she steps outside.
Today was a scheduled prison visit for
Darsi, but she'll not be able to go since she wants to participate in
the march.
Other friends will go visit him and
we'll have news on how he is doing.
I'll try to keep in touch with her
during the day and let you know what happened.
Babalu has the statement from Darsi Ferrer about today's march
Pro Castro thugs organized by State Security yell insults at The Ladies
in White during a march
Dec. 10 - Hundreds of government
supporters shouted insults and pro-Castro slogans at about 50 wives,
mothers and other female relatives of Cuban political prisoners as they
marched Wednesday through a crowded Havana neighborhood in the name of
human rights.
The ladies in White left from the
central Havana apartment of Laura Pollan, one of the organization's
founders and the wife of Hector Maceda, who is serving a 20-year prison
sentence for his political views. They also marched for more than an
hour.
The women made their way through the
streets carrying copies of the universal declaration of human rights and
occasionally chanting "Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!"
A crowd followed behind yelling "Fidel!
Fidel!" and "Down with worms!" — the latter a common slang for Cubans
who head into exile in the United States.
After the women returned to Pollan's
home, which is filmed day and night by a government
camera mounted nearby and also often watched by state agents in
plainclothes stationed on nearby street corners,
the government supporters continued to shout insults while the women
cowered inside.
"For 50 years they've been violating our rights and those of our
husbands," Pollan said. AP
National Post editorial: Don't go to Cuba
Dec. 10 - As the weather turns against
us and holidays approach, many Canadians will eagerly begin to plan
their winter escapes to hotter climes. Each year, hundreds of thousands
of us travel to the island of Cuba, to enjoy the sun, surf and
hospitality for which the island is justly famous.
But the island is infamous, too. While
tourists rarely bother to venture far beyond their comfortable resorts,
if they would, they would see a nation where the worst excesses of
authoritarianism remain as entrenched as ever. This point is well made
by the recent Human Right’s Watch (HRW) report, New Castro, Same Cuba,
that lays bare the state of freedom in Cuba, under the new leadership of
the slightly younger Castro brother, Raul.
In Raul’s Cuba, as in Fidel’s, dissent
remains punishable by indefinite imprisonment, unemployment is
considered antisocial and the government can lock away anyone a summary
trial finds guilty of “dangerousness,” a legal catch-all.
Canada Free Press
Honduran government cancels Zelaya's permit to leave Honduras (UPDATED)
Dec. 9 -10:40 PM The Honduran
government cancelled the safe conduct that would have allowed Zelaya to
leave the country for Mexico, after the deposed president said that he
would only leave as a "distinguished guest" because he was still the
president of Honduras.
If he leaves as a refugee, Zelaya wont
be able to continue using Hugo Chavez's money to foment political unrest
in Honduras.
He wants to be able to continue
traveling all over Latin America proclaiming to be the president of
Honduras, courtesy of the Venezuelan dictator.
The plane sent by the Mexican
government to pick up Zelaya, changed its route and landed instead in El
Salvador.
So at least for now, he'll continue
sleeping on an air mattress at the Brazilian embassy in Honduras, unless
he changes his mind again and accepts the safe conduct offered by the
Honduran government.
Dec. 9 - According to Honduran media,
deposed president Mel Zelaya will leave the Brazilian Embassy where he
has been living since September 21, and will go to exile in México.
According to sources in the Mexican
government, Zelaya will arrive in that country on Wednesday night.
Zelaya, together with his wife and four
children, will leave from the Arturo Mejias' Air Force base on a
military plane.
The Honduran Foreign Ministry signed a
document that would allow Zelaya to leave the Brazilian Embassy without
being arrested. The document was in the hands of the Mexican Embassy in
Tegucigalpa, that will be involved in getting Zelaya out of the country.
This will be the final chapter of this
drama that begun on June 28, when Zelaya was deposed and sent out of the
country for violating the Honduran Constitution.
It is a huge defeat for dictators Hugo
Chávez and the Castro brothers and also for the hypocritical president
of Brazil, Lula da Silva.
Bye, bye Mel!
Afro-Cubans: A powerless majority in their own country
Dec. 8 - On December 1, 2009 a group of
60 prominent Afro-American leaders (including Princeton University
Professor Cornel West; Jeremiah Wright, former Pastor of President
Barack Obama; and Susan Taylor, former editor of Essence magazine)
publicly condemned the Cuban government long standing policies of
discrimination and human right abuses of Afro-Cubans in the island.
On December 4, Cuba responded: “To say
that among us exists a callus disregard for black Cubans, that their
civil liberties are restricted and to demand an end to the unwarranted
and brutal harassment of black citizens in Cuba, would seem a delusional
farce.” The Cuban statement said the island is not a racist society
adding that blacks have opportunities “like never before in our
country.”
In March 2009, the Cuba Transition
Project at the University of Miami published a report showing glaring
abuses against Cuban blacks and inequalities in Cuban society.
Click here to read the report
Postcard from Las Piedras, Cuba
In “Slums of Havana” Award -winning
journalist David Adams takes viewers in a journey through the decaying
infrastructure of Havana, and the conditions under which many there are
forced to live due to a shortage of adequate living spaces. Reporte Virtual
Jamaican academics join those denouncing the Castro brothers' racism
Dec. 5 - Four Jamaican academics who
had previously supported the Cuban regime, joined ranks on Friday with
leaders of the Afro-American community who are asking the Castro
brothers to put an end to the blatant racism in the island.
Rex Nettleford, Barry Chevannes, Rupert
Lewis and Mauren Warner-Lewis sent a letter to Cuban dictator Raúl
Castro on Friday, saying that as supporters of the Cuban regime they
were "surprised at the heavy hand of the State against those who
denounced the racial prejudices in Cuba's society."
Those same prejudices, exploitation,
oppression and racism have existed during all the time that these
academics have supported the brutal Cuban regime, but even if it took 50
years for them to learn the truth, it is better late than never.
The four Jamaican academics also asked
the Cuban dictator to release Cuban dissident Dr. Darsi Ferrer, who has
been in jail since July for organizing a peaceful march in Havana.
Also on Friday, Cuban dissident Dr.
Oscar Elías Biscet, who was sentenced to 25 years in jail for teaching
fellow Cubans about Dr. Martin Luther King and his non-violent movement
in favor of civil rights, thanked the Afro-American leaders for their
support.
Cuban regime claims accusations of racism are unfounded. Judge for
yourself
Dec. 3 - The Castro regime hit back
Thursday at 60 prominent U.S. black leaders who asked for an end to
racism in Cuba, with a five-page document signed by writers, artists and
journalists who are all part of the Cuban government, calling the
criticism an attack on their country's national identity.
"To say that among us exists a 'callus
disregard' for black Cubans, that their civil liberties are restricted
'for reasons of race,' and to demand an end to 'the unwarranted and
brutal harassment of black citizens in Cuba who are defending their
civil rights' would seem a delusional farce," said the document that was
sent by e-mail.
As expected, it accused the U.S. black
leaders of being part of a campaign "that is attempting to suffocate our
sovereignty and national identity," even though many of those
Afro-American leaders had been supporters of the regime.
The Castro regime statement said the
island is not a racist society, saying blacks have opportunities "like
never before in our country."
But that's simply another lie put out
by Castro's huge propaganda machine for almost 50 years and that now is
finally being challenged as it should have been a long time ago.
Imagine the outrage if photos like
these would have been taken in Chile under Pinochet; Colombia under
President Uribe; Micheletti's Honduras; even South Africa during the
apartheid or any other country except Castro's Cuba, where it seems that
nothing would cause a public outrage, at least until now:
Cuban police in action.
They feel free to undress a young man in the middle of the street, or
touch and grab a woman during a public gathering and being able to laugh
about it because they know that nothing will happen to them, as long as
those being harassed are poor Cubans who are considered second class
citizens in their own country.
Link to the actual document of the Afro-American leaders about the
racist regime in Cuba
For almost 5
years we have been denouncing the blatant racism in Cuba and the
incredible lack of support from the Afro-American community in this
country for those brave Cubans fighting for human rights in Cuba.
Let's hope this
signals a new beginning. Many of those who signed this document, were
among the more than 1,500 black leaders and politicians who received our
postcard about Dr. Biscet earlier this year.
Maybe it
contributed to open their eyes and investigate further what has been
happening 90 miles from the Florida shores.
Is Black America's honeymoon with the Castro brothers finally over?
Dec. 1 - In a landmark "Statement of
Conscience by African-Americans," 60 prominent black American scholars,
artists and professionals have condemned the Cuban regime's apparent
crackdown on the country's budding civil rights movement. "Racism in
Cuba, and anywhere else in the world, is unacceptable and must be
confronted," said the document, which also called for the "immediate
release" of Dr. Darsi Ferrer, a black civil rights leader imprisoned in
July.
Traditionally, African-Americans have
sided with the Castro regime and unilaterally condemned the U.S. which,
in the past, explicitly sought to topple the Cuban government. But this
first public rebuke of Castro's racial policies may very well indicate a
tide change and a more balanced attitude.
Representing a wide spectrum of
political opinion, the document was signed by Princeton University
scholar Cornel West; famed actress Ruby Dee; former Essence magazine
editor and current president of the National CARES Mentoring Movement
Susan Taylor; Bennett College President Julienne Malvaux; UCLA Vice
Chancellor Claudia Mitchell-Kernan; Chicago's Trinity Church Emeritus
pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; retired Congresswoman Carrie Meek;
former Black Panther activist Kathleen Cleaver; former Jesse Jackson
presidential campaign manager and current director of the
African-American Leadership Institute Ron Walters; movie director Melvin
Van Peebles; and former Miami-Dade County Commissioner, Betty Ferguson.
More
Finally! A group or prominent Afro-Americans condemn the Castro
brothers' racism
Dec. 1 - For the first time, a
prominent group of intellectuals and leaders of the Afro-American
community has expressed their condemnation of the blatant racism in
Castro's Cuba.
"We have first hand experience of the
consequences of denying civil liberties for racial reasons. For that
reason, we feel obligated to express our opinion about what is happening
to our Cuban brothers," said the declaration made public on Monday.
Among the signers are Cornell West,
Professor of the University of Princeton; actress Ruby Dee Davis; film
director Melvin Van Peebles; former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek and even
Jeremiah Wright, President Obama's former pastor, signed the 4 page
document titled "Declaration of Afro-American Support for the Fight for
Civil Rights in Cuba."
El Nuevo Herald (Spanish)
Message from prisoner of conscience Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet
Nov. 27 - Prisoner of conscience Dr.
Oscar Elias Biscet spoke with Radio Martí from the Combinado del Este
prison, to announce a new campaign asking the Castro regime to respect
the human rights of the Cuban people.
Dr. Biscet is asking Cubans in and out
of the island and people all over the world to support this campaign
that will begin on December 5 and end on December 10, the International
Day of Human Rights.
Dr. Biscet said that he is on cell 1232
on the second floor of the Combinado del Este prison, a maximum
security area where the most violent common criminals are being held.
Because he has to share his cell with
prisoners accused of violent crimes, Dr. Biscet considers that his life
is at risk.
"I feel good, even though I still
suffer from several illnesses that I have managed to keep under control.
However, I have lost most of my teeth due to the stress and the lack of
hygiene at the prison," Dr. Biscet told Radio Martí.
Dr. Biscet was sentenced to 25 years in
jail for teaching his fellow Cubans about Dr. Martin Luther King and his
peaceful protests in support of civil rights in the United States.
Instead of supporting Dr. Biscet, the
Congressional Black Caucus, The NAACP and several black artists like
Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte, support the criminals who are keeping
Dr. Biscet in jail.
Click here to listen to the interview with Dr. Biscet (Spanish)
Cuban Sushi: Lágrimas Negras in Japanese!
An excellent interpretation by a
Japanese group of Lagrimas Negras (Black Tears), the famous Cuban song
by Trio Matamoros.
Human Rights Watch: Cuba is holding masses of political prisoners
Nov. 18 - Scores of Cubans have been
detained as political prisoners since Raul Castro assumed power three
years ago, a human-rights organization reported Wednesday, suggesting
that there has been little change in the repressive
system that existed under his
brother Fidel.
Human Rights Watch issued what it
called the most comprehensive report yet on civil and political rights
in Cuba under Raul Castro, based on a two-month unofficial visit by its
researchers to the island and supplemented by telephone interviews from
the United States.
Raul Castro has introduced some limited
free-market reforms since his ailing brother relinquished power to him
in July 2006, the report said. But his government has continued to use
"draconian laws and sham trials" to incarcerate people seen as critical
of authorities, it added.
Castro's government has relied
especially on a legal provision allowing people to be
arrested for "dangerousness" before they have even committed a crime,
the report said. Some of those charged with "dangerousness" had held
peaceful marches, written news articles critical of the government or
given out copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according
to Human Rights Watch.
"This is Raul's repressive tool of
choice," said Nik Steinberg, one of the researchers who compiled the
report, "New Castro, Same Cuba."
The Washington Post
Please sign the Internet petition for the freedom of Dr. Darsi Ferrer
Oct. 22 - Dr. Darsi Ferrer has been on
a hunger strike at the Valle Grande prison for the last 10 days.
Here are excerpts from an e-mail that I
received today from Yusnaimi Jorge Soca, Dr. Ferrer's wife:
"Yesterday I was able to receive a call from someone inside the prison
who told met that Darsi wanted me to know that he was not feeling well,
but that I should not worry because he is strong enough to resist."
"Now, I want you to
know that the lawyer who supposedly was going to defend Darsi was
actually working for his accusers, because she lied to me when she said
that some of the charges had been dropped.
The truth is that the charges are the same as they were on the day that
he was arrested: Attempting to buy and illegal possession of two bags of
cement.
What the lawyer actually did was make sure that the police had enough
time to prepare the charges before he is taken to trial."
Only in a totalitarian Stalinist system
like the one in Castro's Cuba, would someone be sent to jail for having
two bags of cement to make repairs on his house.
Only in a totalitarian Stalinist system
like the one in Castro's Cuba, would you be forced to use a "defense
lawyer" who is actually working for the brutal regime that is accusing
you.
A slip of the tongue.......
Oct. 21 - We have always known that
Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez has a chronic case of oral diarrhea.
He talks and talks day and night and,
like his Cuban boss, he feels qualified to talk about everything, from
nuclear energy to how much time Venezuelans should spend brushing their
teeth or taking a shower.
Today, Chávez was complaining on
national television about Venezuelans who spend more water than they
should while taking a shower.
He said that 3 minutes was all the time
required to take a bath.
"One minute to apply shampoo and soap
and one minute to take it off," he said
Then Chávez began complaining about
those who take a bath on a Jacuzzi or who waste a lot of water while
singing in the shower, and that's when the Venezuelan dictator had a
slip of the tongue.
"What kind of
communism is that?", he asked.
It is the first time that Chávez has
admitted that he is trying to implement a communist system in Venezuela,
even though we knew that from day one.
Watch the video (Spanish)
Yoani Sánchez: Speaking my Mind
Cuba's most famous
blogger was not allowed to travel to the U.S. to receive her Maria Moors
Cabot Prize.
In her latest column she
posted this video of her confrontation with the Immigration Officers who
told her that she was not allowed to travel, but couldn't give them the
reason why.
English translation of
the video:
Clerk: Yoani?
Yoani: Well, I need to know if you have lifted the ban on my traveling
that has been in effect for a year.
[Informational text] From here the recording is audio only.
Clerk: You still cannot travel.
Yoani: Still? And when will you lift this prohibition.? Do you have an
idea? I need to know.
Clerk: Prohibition?
Yoani: Well, not allowing me to get on a plane is a prohibition.
Clerk: You are still not authorized to travel.
Yoani: And for what reason?
Clerk: I do not know the reason.
Yoani: I have no pending legal case, I’m not being prosecuted before a
court. Pay attention to this citizen. I’ve already come many times. You
know me here. What I want to know is if this prohibition is unending. If
I will one day be able to leave the country. If I continue trying. What
do I have to do?
You know this is a violation of my constitutional rights. You people are
violating my rights as a citizen, the ability to travel, to leave and
enter my country. It is very serious. That a military institution denies
a fundamental right of a civilian citizen, it is like the right to an
education, to food, the right to travel.
Clerk: At this time you cannot travel.
Yoani: Yes, I have heard it already, I repeat. But I what I want is to
have the person who made the decision give me the answer to my face.
Clerk: I am giving it to you.
Yoani: No you are not giving me the answer, you are repeating to me the
same thing it says in those papers. Why can’t Yoani Sanchez leave the
country? Why are you so afraid of my being outside of Cuba?
Clerk: At this time you cannot travel.
Yoani: Why don’t you want me to put one foot on a plane? What are you
afraid of? What can this 110 pound person do? Create a tsunami? Why then
won’t you let me leave the country?
Clerk: I already told you…
Yoani: You are being ridiculous. But no, I don’t want to repeat. You are
making a travesty of life. This institution, that you represent, this
permission to leave, some day this is going to end. My grandchildren are
not going to live under these conditions. When I tell them the story of
how the institutions of my country violated my rights, my right to
travel, they’re not going to believe me. What will you tell your
children? That you dedicated yourself to violating the rights of Cubans?
Is that what you’ll say? Because really, I feel sorry for you for what
you are going to have to tell your children in the future.
Me, no. I’ve never violated the rights of anyone. I only want to
exercise my right. And act like a free person. Why can’t I? Why? Why do
you routinely deny me permission? Who is the person who makes the
decision? Why don’t they stop being a coward and show their face? And
say to me, “Yoani Sanchez, you are not traveling for one, two, three…”
But no.
No, you are saying to me, “No.” You are not giving me an explanation,
the why. I am not being prosecuted in court. I have no pending cases,
I’ve never been a soldier. I don’t have State secrets. I’m not even a
doctor, and you have prohibited medical personal from leaving for five
years. They need to be freed. I am none of that. I am a person dedicated
to letters. Why can’t I leave. Ah… I do know why I can’t leave, but I am
waiting for you people to tell me. Because you have an ideological
filter. This country is a huge prison, with an ideological boundary. And
the citizens here are judged by political colors. Here there are first
citizens, and second, and in the fifth category… I don’t know what
category I’m in but I must be in the basement, no? Why? Because of an
ideological filter.
But one day this will end. Because this Nation has nothing to do with
ideology, or with a party. This nation existed before you and it will
exist after you. And then you are going to have to give an accounting of
all the violations you visited upon Cubans. In truth, I’m very sorry but
the future does not belong to you. The future is ours. I am
34-years-old, I am going to live it, I am going to live it. I am going
to be very happy when I can travel freely. And all you are doing is
tightening the rubber band. When I can step foot outside this country,
the consequences will be much greater because you made it happen. Every
day more people read my blog, because you also have made that happen.
More people are amazed and greet me in the street, because you have
caused that. With your prohibitions and your authoritarianism and your
police watching everything. The only thing you’ve done is to make what I
do more attractive. So then, if I have to thank anyone I have to thank
the organs of State Security, the Ministry of the Interior, and
Immigration who have contributed to the phenomenon of my blog growing
bigger and bigger. Really, thanks very much!
Generation Y
The "Quivicán Sound Machine"
Can you imagine what this Cuban would
be able to do if he had access to all the musical instruments required?
He is much better than all those who
performed at Juanes' Concert for Peace.
The last dance
Oct. 6 - An exclusive video obtained by
Maria Elvira Live shows former Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage and
former Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque dancing and having a good
time at the farm of Conrado Hernández, a Cuban national who represented
Basque interest in the island.
Both, Laje and Pérez Roque, were purged
last March after Cuba's intelligence services found the videos and
recorded phone conversations in which both former officials made jokes
about the Castro brothers and other prominent members of the Cuban
regime.
The recordings had been made by
Hernández, who apparently wanted to deliver ’‘evidence’‘ to Spanish
intelligence about the way of thinking of the new generation of Cuban
leaders and what political changes could be expected.
Hernández was arrested on Feb. 14 at
Havana’s international airport as he prepared to leave with his wife to
Bilbao, Spain.
A
video about the difficulties facing Cubans who are trying to keep cool
in Havana during these hot summer months.
In
Spanish with English subtitles.
Thanks
to JRHIAL for the link
An impacting video from Cuba: "Decadencia"
(Decadence)
Sept. 9 - Just 11 days before the so called "Concert for Peace"
by Juanes is supposed to take place, this impacting video has
arrived from Cuba
Click here to see a computerized
Tomography of Chávez's brain Humor Page
On the 15th. Anniversary of "El
Maleconazo"
August 5 - We have received photos that have never
been never published before, of the protests that took place in Havana
on August 5, 1994.
Karel Poort, a reader who lives in Holland, was
visiting Havana for the first time on that date and was able to take
dramatic photos of what happened.
I want to thank Karel for sharing these photos with
us. Click here to see the photos and a video EL MALECONAZO
Dr. Darsi Ferrer could be sentenced to 8
years in jail
July 29 - El Nuevo Herald reports today that the
family of jailed dissident Dr. Darsi Ferrer was informed that he will be
charged with actions against the regime and with receiving stolen
property and could receive a sentence of 8 years in jail.
The "receipt of stolen property" refers to two bags
of cement and two aluminum windows that Darsi had bought and had at his
home, but that according to the police he didn't have the "proper
documentation" for those items.
As I reported previously, when I last spoke with
Darsi on Sunday July 12 after he was released from his first arrest, he
told me that the police had stolen 2 windows, construction material and
some iron bars that he had bought and was planning to use to better
secure his home.
"This is all a show. They first beat him and now they
want to charge him," his wife Yusnaimi Jorge Soca told El Nuevo.
Elizardo Sánchez, President of the Cuban Human Rights
Commission and National Reconciliation, told the paper that the "real
objective was to take Darsi out of circulation, because some of his
actions were beginning to take hold. No one, not even the government,
would believe the stolen property accusations."
"He is being accused of things that are considered
minor and if this really goes to trial and he receives a jail sentence,
it would be a real scandal," Sánchez told El Nuevo.
However, the fascist regime in Cuba is not concerned
about another scandal. For 50 years they have been jailing, torturing
and murdering innocent Cubans, while the whole world looks the other
way.
Darsi is currently on a hunger strike at the Valle
Grande prison near Havana, to protest for his unjust arrest.
Historical document
A reader has sent us a copy of the letter that
advised President Lyndon Johnson of the death of Argentinean mercenary
che Guevara.
The letter is signed by Walt Whitman Rostow, Special
Assistant for National Security Affairs.
Photos of Dr. Darsi Ferrer after the police beating of last Thursday
night
July 14 - Dr. Darsi
Ferrer sent me these photos on Tuesday, taken after his arrest
last week.
They show the marks on
his face and other parts of his body after the beating by Castro's
thugs.
The reason? Dr. Ferrer
and his wife had asked a group of friends to join them for a walk on
Havana's Malecón.
The Cuban regime is
paranoid about any group of people getting together.
They think that the
situation can get out of hand, like it occurred a few years ago in the "Maleconazo."
Some of the photos also
show the damage that the thugs from Cuba's State Security caused in
Darsi's home.
The front door was ripped
apart and two of the window frames in the house were stolen.
There is also a photo of
the Medical Certificate signed by the doctor at the hospital where Darsi
went after he was released..
You can see more
information on my post of last Sunday which appears below.
It was
difficult, but they got there
May 20 - Getting the
Marti t-shirts to Cuba hasn't been easy.
This weekend they finally
reached some of the dissidents who will help distribute them.
Some of the t-shirts were
distributed in Havana and others were sent to Cardenas and Holguin.
I want to thank Dr. Darsi
Ferrer and the Plantados for the great help they have provided me with
this project and I also want to thank all our readers who have
contributed to this effort.
We are having more
t-shirts printed and I'm looking at different ways of getting them to
Cuba.
This photo was taken last
weekend when several of the dissidents got together to receive the first
t-shirts.
From left to right: Dr.
Darsi Ferrer Ramirez, Rafael Leyva Leyva, Carol Susent Cruz and Pedro
Moises Calderin.
Rafael and Carol live in
Holguin and took several of the t-shirts to be distributed there.
We want to thank the
following readers who have contributed to our campaign:
Ruth E. Cooke - Diego
Trinidad III - Daisy Varela - Miguel Beltra - Marco Polo - R. Duval -
Dona Flores - Henry Agueros - Christopher Glick - Elena Borkland -
Odalys Fabregas -
Fernando Dominicis - Zivainla Sahl - Alfredo Zayas - Andy Grubbs - R.
Campanioni - Ana J. Martinez - Liliana Quincoses - Pete Guevara -
Constantino Peña - Angel Valdes - José A. González-Posada - Francisco A.
Gómez
If you want to help with the
t-shirts and postcards projects, please send a donation:
You can also send a check to:
The Real Cuba - P.O. BOX 835308 - Miami, FL 33283-5308
Click here to learn
more about our projects for 2009
Racism in
Castro's Cuba
This documentary about racism
in Castro's Cuba was aired Sunday, April 26, on Channel 41 in Miami.
Dec. 17 - Cuba Facts is an ongoing series of succinct
fact sheets on various topics, including, but not limited to, political
structure, health, economy, education, nutrition, labor, business,
foreign investment, and demographics, published and updated on a regular
basis by the Cuba Transition Project staff at the University of Miami.
Click here to learn the truth about Cuba's Health, Education,
Personal Consumption and much more in pre-Castro Cuba.
Play soccer with Fidel
Grab the SOB and throw him as hard as you can. Move
the mouse and you'll see him fall as if he was on his way to Hell.
