/ Jorge Olivera Castillo
Cuba Blog
Cuba Blog is an outlet for independent Cuban journalists to post their work. The articles are available in English and/or Spanish and have been sent to us directly by the authors.
/ Miguel Iturria Savón
Telegram
The postman knocked on the door and after giving me his congratulations and asking me to sign a receipt form he handed me a telegram. I saw a piece of urgent paper with my address and with a short message. When I asked him for the envelope, he calmly replied there had not been any. It was a kind of double surprise – my niece was sending me a birthday card from Matanzas and the local messenger ... more
/ Various independent Cuban journalists and sources
Report on the HR situation in Cuba over the last 5 month (January - May 2008)
Over the last five months, the Cuban regime arrested and jailed 22 dissidents and opposition activists, 13 of whom were still in prison at the time of this report. The closed door trials were problematic ... more/ Tania Diaz Castro
Reflections on Fidel Castro
HAVANA, Cuba - In 1959, after traveling triumphantly through the island dressed like a guerrilla, bearded, with a rosary around his neck, Fidel Castro was seen by many as the new Messiah. It was clear ... more/ Miguel Iturria Savón
The Cow
I did not know it was sacred until the accident happened. I was on my way from Guantánamo to Havana, travelling by a Yutong 1244. It was last Thursday very early in the morning on the main road between ... more2010-02-09 / Esteban Israel (Reuters)
Cuba travel bill buried in political agenda
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan drive in Congress to end a Cold War-era travel ban on Cuba was buried during the healthcare reform debate but its supporters hope to dig it out this year.
Sponsors of two bills allowing Americans to travel freely to Cuba, introduced last year in the Senate and the House of Representatives, say a flood of dollars from the pro-embargo Cuban-American lobby might also have played a part.
"Support has not waned but it's clear that the debate over healthcare has consumed the first year of the (Obama) administration and has had a similar impact in terms of congressional action," Representative Bill Delahunt, a Democrat and one of the authors of the bill, told Reuters.
Co-sponsor Jeff Flake, a Republican representative, said the votes were there to pass the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act this year but the Democratic majority in the House was divided over whether to take it to the floor for a vote. ...more
2010-02-09 / AFP - Agence France-Presse
Cuba releases all dissidents arrested last week
HAVANA — Cuba has released the last five of a group of 35 dissidents it arrested last week for demonstrating on behalf of a conscientious objector, a Cuban human rights group said.
"The last three dissidents that were jailed since Wednesday were freed on Sunday" and another two were released Friday and Saturday, Committee for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) director Elizardo Sanchez told AFP.
Cuban police arrested and jailed 35 political dissidents in the eastern city of Camaguey, when they were marching in support of Orlando Zapata, whom Amnesty International has declared a prisoner of conscience. He has been in prison since 2003.
The protesters were briefly jailed, then 30 were released.
The demonstrators were protesting "the cruel and inhuman treatment" of Zapata. The CCDHRN said it was concerned over Zapata's health, and called for his unconditional release.
In its January annual report, the group said that there are 201 political prisoners in Cuba.
Authorities on the communist island insist there are no political prisoners, but rather US-financed "mercenaries" jailed for threatening Cuban national security.
2010-02-08 / Marc Frank (Reuters)
Cuba looks to suburban farms to boost food output
CAMAGUEY, Cuba (Reuters) - Cuba has launched an ambitious project to ring urban areas with thousands of small farms in a bid to reverse the country's long agricultural decline and ease its chronic economic woes.
The five-year plan calls for growing fruits and vegetables and raising livestock in 4-mile-wide (6.5 kilometer) rings around 150 of Cuba's cities and towns, with the exception of the capital Havana.
The island's Communist authorities hope suburban farming will make food cheaper and more abundant, cut transportation costs, be less reliant on machinery and encourage urban dwellers to leave bureaucratic jobs for more productive labor. ...more
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