Author: Jimmy Roque Martinez

Not too long ago, I witnessed how a policeman dressed as a civilian, fined an old lady, with the help of two inspectors. Minutes later, they took her merchandise to a police truck that was parked nearby. Persecution of retirees and other vendors trying to survive is commonplace.

The scandalous clearing of trees in Havana’s Central Park, which is right in front of the new and luxurious Manzana de Gomez Hotel, has been reported on several alternative media platforms.

It doesn’t make any sense to continue on with this absurd censorship. The truth can’t be hidden for much longer. It’s time for the government to face the facts and accept that they are losing control over the information that many Cuban people are taking in.

On Tuesday August 2, I was witness to how this police officer, this time dressed as a civilian, along with two inspectors, fined an old woman. A few minutes later, they took all her goods to the police truck that was parked nearby.

Following the Guidelines of the Cuban Communist Party, Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health has begun downsizing its services, relocating several consulting rooms in different polyclinics to only one or two major polyclinics in each municipality.

My compatriots say that Cubana de Aviacion is the worst airline in the world. This, however, is not what my brief travel experience suggests. Recently, I traveled from Mexico to Havana with Mexico’s Interjet, and I do not have pleasant memories of my journey.

The HBO documentary “Mariela Castro’s March: Cuba’s LGBT Revolution” was just screened at the Havana Film Festival, where Jon Alpert, the director, and Mariela Castro, head of the National Sexual Education Center, spoke about the film.

One of the many things that surprised me in my short visit to Mexico City is the freedom with which homosexuals express their love for one another in public. It’s common to see homosexual men and women holding hands on the street or kissing each other on the lips out in the open.

This past 26th of September marked one year since the disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural School. An immense demonstration gathered over 150,000 people in Mexico City, to demand that the students be brought back alive. I had the unique and intense experience of participating.