Brussels, March 31 (Prensa Latina) The Friends of Cuba Belgian association is celebrating its 53rd anniversary with initiatives to accompany the island in the fight against the US blockade, Vice president Freddy Tack stated.
The co-founder of the organization said that after two years of limitations resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, they are planning on increasing public activities and mobilizations.
According to Tack, the objective is to reach more people, since in recent times the Covid-19 forced to carry out fewer public activities or to develop them in closed spaces, including debates and projections of film materials.
One of the lines of action of the organization is the participation in an initiative against the blockade, Tack commented in reference to the Coordinator against the Blockade, which brings together representatives of various sectors of Belgian society around the common goal of denounce, condemn and demand the end of the US-enforced policy.
Tack added that these days they are also addressing the theoretical and legal component of the issue of the US blockade against Cuba, particularly in relation to to its extraterritorial nature.
“We also support the Soberana Project,” he said in relation to the initiative led by Cuban resident Reinaldo Romero to send containers to Cuba with medical supplies, which were dispatched three last year.
The Friends of Cuba in Belgium have accumulated a lot of experience in these solidarity operations, with dozens of containers sent to Cuba.
The Popular Provincial Court of Havana held, between December 14, 2021 and February 3, 2022, the oral and public trials corresponding to the six criminal cases for the events that occurred on July 11 and 12 of last year, in the place known as the Corner of Toyo, in the municipality of Diez de Octubre, and in the La Güinera district, municipality of Arroyo Naranjo. These processes were followed against 129 citizens, accused of committing and provoking serious disturbances and acts of vandalism, with the purpose of destabilizing public order, collective security and citizen tranquility.
The trials were carried out with observance of due process and strict respect for the rights and constitutional guarantees of the accused and their defense attorneys, as established in current legislation, including the practice of the evidence proposed, both by the prosecution in his accusation, as well as by the defendants and their procedural representatives. The judicial act was attended by several relatives and friends of those involved, who were able to witness the professionalism and transparency with which the hearings were conducted.
The court notified the sentences, in which it considered proven and proven that on July 11, 2021, in the Toyo Corner, municipality of Diez de Octubre, obeying instructions given by people both from Cuba and abroad, the defendants tried violently subvert the constitutional order. They threw stones and bottles at various officials, law enforcement officers, National Revolutionary Police facilities, patrol cars; They overturned a motorcycle and cars belonging to the Municipal Assembly of People's Power and caused injuries to other people and serious material damage.
On the other hand, another group of defendants, on July 12, 2021, in the town of La Güinera, municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, took to the streets of that territory and called on passers-by and neighbors to join them; They threw stones, sticks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails at agents of the Ministry of the Interior and other workers from state institutions present at the scene, causing injuries to them. The defendants also besieged the Unit of the National Revolutionary Police of the Capri neighborhood for several hours.
These events were deliberately organized in the midst of the complex situation that the country was going through, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the province of Havana, reasons why exceptional measures had been taken to counteract its effects, which included, among others, limitation of movement and social isolation.
The court, with full respect for the guarantees and rights, and in accordance with the evidence presented in the oral hearings, considered 128 of the defendants judged responsible for the facts, according to each case, for the crimes of Sedition and Theft, foreseen and sanctioned in Articles 100 a), 322.1 and 323 of the Penal Code.
In order to adapt and individualize the sanction to be imposed on each of those responsible for the perpetration of the aforementioned crimes, the acting judges took into account the degree of participation, the personal conditions of those involved, as well as the seriousness, harmfulness and violence of the crimes. acts committed, together with the exceptional situation that the country was experiencing as a result of the pandemic and, in compliance with the provisions of the current Penal Code, they decided to apply the following sanctions to the accused:
Dayron Martín Rodríguez and Miguel Páez Estiven, 30 years in prison; Wilmer Moreno Suárez, 26 years in prison.
Roberto Pérez Ortega, Luis Frómeta Compet and Asley Nelson Cabrera Puente, 25 years in prison.
Walnier Luis Aguilar Rivera, Ángel Hernández Serrano, Yerandis Rillo Pao, Oscar Luis Ortíz Arrovsmeth, Robert Orlando Cairo Díaz, Denis Ojeda Álvarez, Yoandry Reinier Sayu Silva and Yoanky Báez Albornoz, 23 years in prison.
Lázaro Zamora González, José Luis Sánchez Tito and Frank Aldama Rodríguez, 22 years in prison.
Rolando Vázquez Fleitas, Henry Fernández Pantera and Juan Emilio Pérez Estrada, 21 years in prison.
Katia Beirut Rodríguez, Fredy Beirut Matos, Alexander Guillermo Martínez Amoroso, Dianyi Liriano Fuentes, Alexis Sosa Ruiz, Orlando Carvajal Cabrera, Jorge Vallejo Venega, Ronald García Sánchez, Alexis Borges Wilson, Donger Soroa González and Alexander Ayllón Carvajal, 20 years of deprivation of Liberty
Duannis Dabel León Taboada, Adael Jesús Leyva Díaz, Lauren Martínez Ibáñez and Kendry Miranda Cárdenas, 19 years in prison.
Odet Cruzata Hernández, Reinier Reynoso Valdes, Jesús Enrique Vázquez Cabrera, Marlon Brando Díaz Oliva, Dayán Gustavo Flores Brito, Oscar Bárbaro Bravo Cruzata, Yussuan Villalba Sierra, Ricardo Duque Solís, Francisco Eduardo Soler Castaneda, Elieser Gordín Rojas and Rowland Jesús Castillo Castro, 18 years of imprisonment.
Carlos Paul Michelena Valdés, Daisy Rodríguez Alfonso, Amaury Leyva Prieto, Kevin Damián Frómeta Castro, Juan Piloto Ferro and Luis Miguel Oña Jiménez, 16 years in prison.
Felipe Almiral, Elier Padrón Romero, Brusnelvis Adrián Cabrera Gutiérrez, Amalio Álvarez González, Luis Armando Cruz Aguilera, Oriol Hernández Gálvez, Edel Cabrera González, Roberto Ferrer Tamayo and Harol Michel Mena Nuviola, 15 years in prison.
Adán Kiubel Castillo Echevarría, Adrián Oljales Mora, Yunaiky de la Caridad Linares Rodríguez, Juan Carlos Morales Herrera, Amaury Fernández Martínez, Carlos Alberto Hernández Pérez, Andrius López Fragosa, Osvaldo Lugo Pita, Juan Walberto Verdecia Rodríguez and Lázaro Noel Urgelles Fajardo, 14 years old of deprivation of liberty.
Yunior García Vizcay, Carlos Luis Águila Socarrás, Adonay López López, Julián Yasmany Díaz Mena, Eduardo Álvarez Rigal, and Brandon David Becerra Curbelo, 13 years in prison.
Karen Vázquez Pérez, Franyer Abad Dumet, José Luis Castillo Bolaños, Yan Carlos Martínez Bonne, Freidel Ramírez Castillo, Jarolkis Suárez Rojas, Idael Naranjo Pérez, Jesús Ramón Rodríguez Pérez, Yosney Emilio Román Rodríguez, Raudel Saborín González, Yasiel Arnaldo Córdova Rodríguez, Rafael Jesús Núñez Echenique, Elyán Seguí Cruz, Mackyani Yosney Román Rodríguez, Alejaime Lambert Reyes, Rolier Salazar González and Yurema Ramos Abad, 12 years in prison.
Jaimel Alcide Firdó Rodríguez, Alejandro Bécquer Arias, Arielvis Rill Baró, Yaquelín Castillo García and José Luis Castillo de la Torre, 11 years in prison.
Leoalys de la Caridad Valera Vázquez, Yunan González Terry, Raynel Mayet Frómeta, Brayan Piloto Pupo, Giuseppe Belaunzarán Guada, Santiago Vázquez León, Lázaro Daniel Cremé Bueno, Dayán Jesús Ramírez Rondón, Germán Barrenechea Echavarría and Eris Diógenes Mejías Vinent, 10 years of deprivation of freedom.
Frank Daniel Roy Sotolongo, Yassell Guerra Campos, Marco Antonio Alfonso Breto and Liliana Oropesa Ferrer, 9 years in prison.
Dariel Cruz García, Juan Yanier Antomarchi Núñez, Yurileydis Soler Abad, Félix Jesús Armada García, Eloy Bárbaro Cardoso Pedroso, Yoilán Limonta Mojena, Yosnel Daniel Castro Fernández and Frandy González León, 8 years in prison.
Rubis Carlos Vicet Padilla, Emy Yoslán Román Rodríguez, Yensi Jorge Machado González and Wilfredo Limonta Mesa, 7 years in prison.
José Antonio González Guerrero and Yeinier Ibáñez Boudet, 6 years in prison;
Nelsón Nestor Rivero Garzón, 4 years in prison, subsidized for the same term of correctional work without internment.
The accused Nayn Luis Marco Molinet was acquitted by the court for not proving his participation in the events.
Similarly, the court established in its sentence, as civil liability of the defendants, the obligation to compensate the people who were injured as a result of the acts committed and repair the damage caused to the entities.
Both the sanctioned defendants and the prosecutor's office have the right to file an appeal before the Supreme People's Court against the sentence issued by the judicial body that conducted the trial in the first instance.
(Taken from the People's Supreme Court)
Rest assured that the Cuban Revolution will never surrender, stated Party First Secretary and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, addressing progressive journalists, political activists and expert social media influencers participating in the international colloquium for the 130th anniversary of the newspaper Patria, founded by José Martí. Díaz-Canel received the communicators at the Palace of the Revolution, for an informal, sincere meeting, to, as he said, “Thank you for your work in defense of the truth and of Cuba.” Over the past few days, some twenty activists on social media and other multimedia and traditional platforms, from several countries, gathered at the Casa de las Americas, on the occasion of Cuban Press Day, to discuss the challenges of the left in a world where imperial hegemony in the virtual and symbolic field is overwhelming, but must be confronted. For more than an hour, the President described Cuba’s context and current situation for the guests, to then open an exchange during which expressions of solidarity with the island were accompanied by extensive analysis of the struggle in communications, for our people’s culture and for Cuba. Today’s convulsive world, which hegemonic powers seek to dominate, is a world we must change, Díaz-Canel stated, both in the real and the virtual world.
Havana, Mar 15 (Prensa Latina) The moratorium on the return home of Cubans residents abroad will be maintained until further notice, the Cuban Immigration Office informed on Tuesday.
The Cuban News Agency (ACN) reported that this includes those who are currently visiting other countries.
An official press release from the Cuban Immigration Office, a governmental institution that bases its information on sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained that due to the moratorium, those living abroad can keep the status of native Cuban citizens, and can return with their passport without the need of an extension or if it has expired.
It noted that prior to departure, the person must check the corresponding documentation with the relevant airline.
Paris, Mar 15 (Prensa Latina) Cuba on Tuesday will present to French tour operators and airlines the new features of the sector in the island, where the two years of the pandemic were used to improve the infrastructure and the quality of the offer.
Cuban Embassy’s tourism adviser Diana Rosa Gonzalez told Prensa Latina that it will be an excellent opportunity to present the participating companies the details of the destination and exchange criteria with them about the wide range of options to have a good time in a country renowned for its beauty, history and the hospitality of its people.
We will address the revival program implemented in this context of the pandemic caused by Covid-19, she stressed.
According to Gonzalez, tonight’s meeting will also allow to relaunch on French soil the International Tourism Fair, FITCuba 2022, the main professional event of the sector in the Caribbean nation, which attracted more than 7,500 specialists from 53 countries during the previous edition, held in 2019.
Before the outbreak of the pandemic, France was one of the main tourist-sending markets to Cuba, with more than 160,000 visitors annually, identified by their interest in circuits, culture and history.
Geneva, Mar 15 (RHC)– Cuba denounced at the U.N. Human Rights Council the impunity with which terrorist acts are promoted from U.S. territory against the island and demanded the cessation of this practice.
In continuing the debates of the 49th session of that body on Tuesday in Geneva, Cuban diplomat Mirthia Julia Brossard repudiated that on digital platforms and social networks, individuals and groups based in the southern state of Florida call for violence and terrorism to attack the Caribbean nation.
“We also reiterate the denunciation of the terrorist attacks committed against our embassies in Washington and Paris, in 2020 and 2021, respectively”, she said in an interactive dialogue with Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, special rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the Fight against Terrorism.
The Cuban representative at the forum ratified the Caribbean country’s commitment to confront the scourge and recalled the historical position of rejection and condemnation of all terrorist acts, methods, and practices in all their forms and manifestations.
Cuba has never allowed nor will it allow its territory to be used to organize such actions, she said.
Brossard also stressed in her speech the island’s condemnation of its inclusion in the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a unilateral mechanism of Washington that she described as spurious.
In a clarification before the Human Rights Council, the diplomat pointed out that the mentions in the Special Rapporteur’s report on the situation in Guantanamo have nothing to do with the Cuban government when referring to U.S. military installations located in a portion of Cuban territory illegally occupied.
Bermúdez, presented on Monday the José Martí National Journalism Award, for life’s work to the renowned reporter Roberto Pérez Betancourt.
During the ceremony held at the Memorial that bears the name of the National Hero, Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Ideological Department, said that in the current context the ideas of the Apostle treasure an enlightened validity.
He pointed out that the country is testing for an information war.
He insisted on developing authentic technological sovereignty, a legal framework, and cooperation to preserve the right of nations in the face of imperial hegemony and the new digital distribution of the world.
He said that a new language and other ways of thinking and organizing political action are essential. As guerrillas of the digital era, in an asymmetrical scenario, we have to appropriate the instruments of the so-called fourth industrial revolution, he said.
Polanco Fuentes referred to the approval this year of a communication law in Cuba and the identification of innovative projects of editorial, economic and technological management in the media, which will allow stimulating and generalizing the best experiences.
In his words of gratitude for the highest award given by UPEC, Pérez Betancourt said that journalism is one of the most rewarding professions and highlighted José Martí as one of the references of honesty, ethics, and commitment to his revolutionary ideas.
He said that, at nearly 82 years of age, his formula for remaining active in the profession is based on not giving up in the face of misunderstandings or technological advances, learning from young and old, and making a sincere effort to transcend the local.
During the ceremony, professionals with an outstanding work during 2021 in Written Press, Radio, Television, Hypermedia, Photography and Graphics were also recognized with the Juan Gualberto Gómez National Journalism Award.
This March 14, Cuban Press Day is celebrated on the occasion of the founding of the newspaper Patria by the National Hero, a publication that today reached its 130th anniversary.
Havana, Mach 9 (RHC) –Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel received members of the parliamentary group of Friendship with Cuba of the National Assembly of France on Tuesday.
The delegation is making an official visit to the island at the invitation of the National Assembly of People’s Power of Cuba and is headed by François-Michel Lambert, president of the solidarity group and representatives of parties such as La République En Marche!, Democratic Movement and France insoumise.
In the meeting, the Cuban president acknowledged the permanent work of solidarity with the island carried out by the friendship group and thanked the deputies who from the lower house of the French parliament have historically demanded the end of the U.S. blockade against the people of Cuba.
The French deputies reiterated their willingness to continue supporting the development of bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest and denounced the negative extraterritorial impact of the U.S. blockade which has affected joint economic projects.
The French delegation arrived in Cuba on March 3 and held meetings with Cuban parliamentary authorities, scientists and members of the government.
The purpose of the visit is to get to know the Cuban reality fundamentally in areas related to the development of vaccines and the legislative panorama of the island to promote joint cooperation projects.
Havana, March 7 (RHC)– President Miguel Díaz-Canel affirmed Monday that Cuba defends peace in all circumstances while analyzing the conflict developing in Europe during a meeting with artists and intellectuals.
At the Ministry of Culture annual review, the President said that the island is unambiguously opposed to using force against any state and is clear about the value and principle of international norms that protect against unilateralism, imperialism, and hegemonism.
As a small country, we understand it better for living under siege for more than 60 years and under constant threat. According to the Presidency of the Republic, we have suffered state terrorism, military aggression, bacteriological warfare, and a brutal blockade, said Díaz-Canel, according to the website of the Presidency of the Republic.
He reaffirmed that the Caribbean nation firmly and consistently defends international law, the United Nations Charter, and the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, signed by the heads of state and government in Havana in 2014.
He explained that these principles and norms had been firmly and consistently defended in all scenarios, where they have also been opposed to political manipulation and double standards.
In analyzing the conflict that is developing in Europe, he pointed out that it is a serious matter, of extreme complexity, whose historical roots, and the most recent ones, cannot be ignored, just as the conditions that have led to this situation cannot be ignored.
This conflict could have been avoided if the well-founded demands of the Russian Federation for security guarantees in the face of the offensive military encirclement by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has led that country to an extreme situation, had been thoughtfully and respectfully addressed.
The Cuban leader warned that using economic, commercial, and financial sanctions as an instrument of pressure against any country does not solve the current crisis either but rather adds fuel to the fire and aggravates the international economic situation.
Díaz-Canel pointed out that Cuba has permanently and timely alerted in different international forums and events about this situation.
He reaffirmed that the Caribbean nation will continue to advocate for a serious, constructive, and realistic diplomatic solution to the current crisis in Europe by peaceful means that guarantee the security and sovereignty of all and peace, stability, and regional and international security.