Best wishes to the people of Cuba-

[BellevilleMXZ]

RE: SpaceX.......I wonder if these could be smuggled in/dropped? I would think would be easy to hide on the ground with shrubs around? That said I have no idea if any sats are in place to actually provide service? I have not paid enough attention to know if sats are only in certain areas 

[Nino]

Might just be a coincidence ... but 3 in a week is ... above average.

Cuban General Rubén Martínez Puente dies

Martínez Puente is the third FAR general to die in the last seven days.

DDC Havana 25 Jul 2021

https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1627182316_32913.html

An official note from the Ministry of the Armed Forces (MINFAR) published by Radio Reloj on the night of July 24 announces the death of Rubén Martínez Puente, Major General of the Reserve.

Martínez Puente was a combatant in the Rebel Army, in the Second Eastern Front Frank País, under the orders of Raúl Castro. And after the revolutionary triumph, he was a combat aviation pilot, head of the San Antonio de los Baños Air Brigade, substitute for the FAR minister, head of Air Defense and Revolutionary Force, and director of the Military Agricultural Union, among other positions. .

Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power, he fulfilled an "internationalist mission" in Angola and was decorated on several occasions.

His corpse will be cremated and his ashes will be exposed for the family tribute on a date that will be reported in due course, as announced by the official note, which does not offer date of death or cause of death.

Martínez Puente is the third FAR general to die in the last seven days. On June 18, the death of the head of the Cuban Eastern Army, General Agustín Peña, was announced. And two days later, on July 20, the death of Reserve Brigadier General Marcelo Verdecia Perdomo was announced.

 

[Corylax18]

1 hour ago, BellevilleMXZ said:

RE: SpaceX.......I wonder if these could be smuggled in/dropped? I would think would be easy to hide on the ground with shrubs around? That said I have no idea if any sats are in place to actually provide service? I have not paid enough attention to know if sats are only in certain areas 

SpaceX isn't in the Internet Business. Starlink is. SpaceX is actually launching a satellite for my company (a direct competitor to Starlink) on a Falcon Heavy next year. 

Their system is still in very early beta testing and is drastically underperforming. First they needed about 2500 satellites for full globe coverage, then it was 5,000 to 6,000, now they're submitting applications for "up to" 15,000 satellites. To provide the same amount of coverage to the same number of people for the same price. You do the math. 

Ignoring the big shiny distraction in the room, Yes, you could theoretically smuggle user terminals from any number of well established satellite internet providers into the country. Multiple companies have satellites that cover Cuba Today, the Caribbean Cruise Market is HUGE business. Many companies provide user terminals similar in size and design to a "Dish Network" dish you use all over the place. A dish about 18" or .5m in diameter and a modem the size of a large book. Especially with 4-10 hours of rolling black outs each day. 

Physically setting it up, finding the satellite, and completing the software setup process takes about 3 hours for a trained tech. Breaking it back down, hiding it, then going through the entire process over again would be very time consuming. Not really feasible for regular communications. 

Lets say you find a safe spot to set it up "permanently." Cuba isn't the US or China, but they do have plenty of SigInt technology from the Soviets. Weather they find you outright or not, they are almost certainly capable of jamming across most of the radio spectrum. 

Now the real problem. The consequences. The 5-20 year sentences we're hearing for protestors is nothing. Importing this kind of equipment into the country is expressly prohibited, Jail time is threatened to Tourists. They would make an example of any one caught doing this, especially a Cuban Citizen. Espionage, threats against the state, etc. etc. That individual most likely wouldn't see the light of day until they die or the regime is overthrown. 

[Corylax18]

1 hour ago, Nino said:

Might just be a coincidence ... but 3 in a week is ... above average.

Cuban General Rubén Martínez Puente dies

Martínez Puente is the third FAR general to die in the last seven days.

DDC Havana 25 Jul 2021

https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1627182316_32913.html

An official note from the Ministry of the Armed Forces (MINFAR) published by Radio Reloj on the night of July 24 announces the death of Rubén Martínez Puente, Major General of the Reserve.

Martínez Puente was a combatant in the Rebel Army, in the Second Eastern Front Frank País, under the orders of Raúl Castro. And after the revolutionary triumph, he was a combat aviation pilot, head of the San Antonio de los Baños Air Brigade, substitute for the FAR minister, head of Air Defense and Revolutionary Force, and director of the Military Agricultural Union, among other positions. .

Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power, he fulfilled an "internationalist mission" in Angola and was decorated on several occasions.

His corpse will be cremated and his ashes will be exposed for the family tribute on a date that will be reported in due course, as announced by the official note, which does not offer date of death or cause of death.

Martínez Puente is the third FAR general to die in the last seven days. On June 18, the death of the head of the Cuban Eastern Army, General Agustín Peña, was announced. And two days later, on July 20, the death of Reserve Brigadier General Marcelo Verdecia Perdomo was announced.

 

Very Interesting. That would be QUITE the coincidence. 

[NSXCIGAR]

1 hour ago, Corylax18 said:

Very Interesting. That would be QUITE the coincidence. 

Well, many of them are getting old...

It always seemed to me that a military leader's best chance of survival in Cuba or North Korea is to stage a coup. It's remarkable to me that it never happens, especially in N Korea where Kim will kill you because your tie isn't straight. Your not safe even if you're actually trying to please the regime. 

And once it's apparent they're offing your superiors one after another you'd think the next up would be mighty concerned about his health unless they have no qualms whatsoever about doing anything and everything the regime wants which could get very messy. I think it's safe to say these last three generals did have some qualms about that.

Personally, I'd go down swinging. Maybe I'd at least become a martyr or symbol for a future victory. 

[ElJavi76]

On a non political front... saw this video of a farmer from PdR saying that crops have not been picked up due to lack of fuel for transport. Leaf that was picked back in May has yet to be bought/picked up by the govt. That impacts them because of it spoils there's nothing they can do to recover the leaf or any monies they would have been paid. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRwzrYcJKsi/?utm_medium=copy_link

He's speaking in Spanish, obviously, but the gist of it is... some leaf could be lost due to the "circumstances" and the mishandling due to lack of fuel. 

[Nevrknow]

1 hour ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Well, many of them are getting old...

It always seemed to me that a military leader's best chance of survival in Cuba or North Korea is to stage a coup. It's remarkable to me that it never happens, especially in N Korea where Kim will kill you because your tie isn't straight. Your not safe even if you're actually trying to please the regime. 

And once it's apparent they're offing your superiors one after another you'd think the next up would be mighty concerned about his health unless they have no qualms whatsoever about doing anything and everything the regime wants which could get very messy. I think it's safe to say these last three generals did have some qualms about that.

Personally, I'd go down swinging. Maybe I'd at least become a martyr or symbol for a future victory. 

Personally I’m with you. But unfortunately for most people, self preservation overrides any sense of duty and honor. That and their families. For me,  my family believes in my first statement. I would not be standing ( read that as fighting) alone.

[NSXCIGAR]

2 hours ago, Nevrknow said:

Personally I’m with you. But unfortunately for most people, self preservation overrides any sense of duty and honor. That and their families. For me,  my family believes in my first statement. I would not be standing ( read that as fighting) alone.

That's my point. If self-preservation is the goal the coup makes the most sense. You have to know upon assuming that position whether you're going to do whatever is asked. If there's any chance you might be "removed" a coup is your only chance at survival. 

In N Korea the chances of surviving being a top general are already pretty low. If you're probably going to be executed anyway why not go down swinging?

[helix]

Maybe they were planning something or didn't agree how the protests were handled . A fracture in the military ? Three found out and offed ? That would put the kibosh to it. Right out of the dictators handbook .

[Jimmy_jack]

4 hours ago, helix said:

Maybe they were planning something or didn't agree how the protests were handled . A fracture in the military ? Three found out and offed ? That would put the kibosh to it. Right out of the dictators handbook .

Pretty sure theyd imprison or kill the family too. Thats the thing about these kinds of regimes. An individual, say a general, that wanted to do something could make the decision "If I die so be it". However, knowing that all of your loved ones might be rounded up, imprisoned or executed...that would be enough to stop 99 out of 100 people. 

[Nino]

Four dead generals in a week .... looks like a bad week to be a general in Cuba.

Cuban Reserve General Manuel Lastres Pacheco dies, fourth in a week

With him there are three generals of the Reserve, plus another of such high rank, who died since last July 18.

DDC Havana 26 Jul 2021 - 20:47 CEST

https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1627325256_32950.html

The Cuban Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) reported the death in Cuba of Reserve General Manuel Eduardo Lastres Pacheco, the fourth high-ranking officer to die in just over a week.

According to a note read live in the "Noticiero del Mediodía" of Cuban Television, the deceased, a native of Yara, in Granma, joined Fidel Castro's guerrilla in 1957 and was under the orders of Ernesto "Che" Guevara 

After 1959 he was a battalion leader in the so-called fight against bandits, a brigade leader, an infantry division and the Territorial Troops Militias (MTT), and was also in command of Cuban troops in Angola.

The note did not provide details of the military's age or the causes of his death. It limited himself to announcing that "his body was cremated and his ashes will be exhibited for family tribute on a date that will be announced in due course."

Just on Saturday, the MINFAR reported the death of Rubén Martínez Puente, also a major general of the Reserve. Previously, on July 18, the death of the head of the Eastern Army, General Agustín Peña, was announced. And two days later, on July 20, the death of Reserve Brigadier General Marcelo Verdecia Perdomo was announced.

 

[El Presidente]

33 minutes ago, Nino said:

Four dead generals in a week .... looks like a bad week to be a general in Cuba.

 

Diaz is following the despot post upheaval rulebook to a "T". 

[ElJavi76]

Cuban generals right now are like Tommy getting made in Goodfellas. When Jimmy calls up... he's gone. Whaddaya mean he's gone? He's gone, and there's nothing we could do about it.

These guys have to know they're gonna get it. It doesn't matter how "loyal" they've been. They're considered a liability at this point in time. 

 

[TheFullMontecristo]

"And that's that" 

[NSXCIGAR]

Purging the military and party leadership is standard operating procedure when a new sheriff is in town. Unfortunately it seems like Diaz is ready to commit to the program.

[dgixxer252525]

My family is not on the internet witch it weird, and I just heard from a friend that people took to the streets in San Antonio de los Banos again, and in El Cerro in Havana. 

[NSXCIGAR]

On 7/25/2021 at 3:40 PM, ElJavi76 said:

crops have not been picked up due to lack of fuel for transport.

Looks like fuel is on the way from Mexico:

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-07-26/fuel-tanker-owned-by-mexicos-pemex-on-its-way-to-cuba-data-sources

[Nino]

More stupidity from the Cuban regime - the US is to blame for every- and anything, even Molotov cocktails in Paris ... God, let's rain some brain over the island :

The Cuban government says its embassy in Paris suffered an 'attack with three Molotov cocktails'

Bruno Rodríguez "holds the US responsible" and describes the event as "terrorism."

https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1627374064_32958.html

The Government of Cuba on Monday denounced an alleged "terrorist attack" with three Molotov cocktails against the Havana embassy in Paris. For their part, the French firefighters informed the AFP agency of two incendiary devices thrown at the diplomatic headquarters.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the incident as a "terrorist attack with Molotov cocktails". "I hold the United States Government responsible for its continuous campaigns against our country that encourage these behaviors and for calls for violence, with impunity, from its territory," he wrote on Twitter.

 

[Cigar Surgeon]

The general body count is up to 5:

https://www.cubanet.org/destacados/muere-el-general-armando-choy-rodriguez-el-quinto-en-menos-de-10-dias/

General Armando Choy Rodríguez dies, the fifth in less than 10 days

[Nino]

28 minutes ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

The general body count is up to 5:

https://www.cubanet.org/destacados/muere-el-general-armando-choy-rodriguez-el-quinto-en-menos-de-10-dias/

General Armando Choy Rodríguez dies, the fifth in less than 10 days

Wow - and I just checked the news a few hours ago with no new "General death" announcement ...

Now, this is NO coincidence, even if the guys are old. Something "un-natural" is happening.

[Nino]

Adding some context to @Cigar Surgeon news of the fifth General who's "died".

https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1627401131_32972.html

Choy Rodríguez is the fifth general of the Armed Forces to die on the island after the July 11 protests.

At the moment the Cuban authorities have not reported on the cause of death of any of them, which has generated numerous rumors.

On July 17, a week after the start of the anti-government protests on the island, the state news agency Prensa Latina reported on the death of the head of Cuba's Eastern Army, General Agustín Peña. Three days later, on July 20, the death of the Reserve's brigadier general, Marcelo Verdecia Perdomo, who was Fidel Castro's escort in the Sierra Maestra, was reported in the pages of the state newspaper Granma.

On the night of Saturday, July 24, the state radio station Radio Reloj reported on the death of Major General of the Reserve Rubén Martínez Puente, the Cuban military officer accused of ordering the demolition of the "Brothers to the Rescue" plane.

During the morning of Monday, July 26, a note read live in the "Noticiero del Mediodía" reported the death of General Manuel Eduardo Lastres Pacheco from the Reserve. Interestingly, after several rumors about the death of high-ranking officers began to circulate, the Cuban authorities have given this news less relevance, since the last two cases have not appeared in the written press.

[Monocle]

19 minutes ago, Nino said:

Wow - and I just checked the news a few hours ago with no new "General death" announcement ...

Now, this is NO coincidence, even if the guys are old. Something "un-natural" is happening.

Isn't the systemic underreporting of COVID-19 cases more plausible than something "un-natural"? COVID is where I'd put my money if I were a gambling man.

[Nino]

2 minutes ago, Monocle said:

Isn't the systemic underreporting of COVID-19 cases more plausible than something "un-natural"? COVID is where I'd put my money if I were a gambling man.

You maybe right.

Today's Covid 19 cases in Cuba seems to back up your money :

Considering it is an island of 11m people it is indeed very high - we had 1500 new cases today in Germany, population 83 million ...

Cuba reports 75 deaths from Covid-19 in a day with 7,903 new infections

Ciego de Ávila continues to report the highest number of deaths in the country, with 20 this day.

DDC Havana 27 Jul 2021 - 18:24 CEST

https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1627403095_32973.html

 

 

[El Presidente]

AMLO shrugs off US sensitivity to Cuba aid - Argus Media

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2238268-amlo-shrugs-off-us-sensitivity-to-cuba-aid

Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador shrugged off potential US opposition to Mexican fuel, food and medical aid to Cuba.

"We do have a very good relationship with the US government," AMLO, as the president is widely known, said today as a Mexican products tanker berthed in Havana port.

"We attempt to keep those good relations, a good neighbor with cooperation for development. But in the case of Cuba we do not agree with the blockade," he said, referring to the decades-old US embargo on the island.

The president said one more tanker will depart today with oxygen for Cuba's hospitals and another one tomorrow with food, but he did not mention the possibility of more fuel shipments.

The medium-range Jose Maria Morelos II tanker, which is owned by Mexico's state-owned Pemex, loaded at the Mexican port of Coatzacoalcos on 23 July. It was not immediately clear what type of fuel the vessel was carrying, but Mexico has a surplus of fuel oil, a product that Cuba uses for power generation.

AMLO said the fuel was sent to restore power supply to Cuban hospitals, in response to a letter he received from Cuba's president Miguel Diaz-Canel. AMLO said Mexico is acting as an "independent, free and sovereign" country. "If we were sending guns, well maybe we could see a conflict [with the US], and even then every country is independent, but … food, medicine? Why the blockade?"

The US embargo on Cuba has ample exceptions, including for food, medicine and agricultural products. US administration officials have not commented on Mexico's fuel supply to Cuba. Russia also sent aid to Cuba over the weekend. The former Soviet Union was Havana's main patron during the Cold War.

For two decades, Cuba has depended on its close ally Venezuela for almost all of its oil needs, but the Opec country's deteriorated national oil industry has lost production and refining capacity to sustain supplies at home or abroad. The fuel shortage in Cuba has exacerbated electricity blackouts, one of the many grievances that sparked rare protests on 11 July. The civil unrest was harshly quelled by special forces which drew US sanctions in response.

By Sergio Meana and Patricia Garip

 

[Corylax18]

55 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

"We do have a very good relationship with the US government,"

Really?!? Since when? Last I checked the relationship was so bad we were building a wall between the two countries?(going back 3 U.S. Admins/15+ years, under many guises)

1 hour ago, El Presidente said:

We attempt to keep those good relations

Says the "president" of the worlds drug and human smuggling super highway. What an arrogant prick. I wonder if He's on PEMEX's payroll like most of the admin was a few years ago and two decades ago? Or just the Cartels?

I have no problem with Mexico, or any other country sending medicine, food and oxygen. But how quickly we forget. Didn't the Covax program offer Cuba all sorts of medical aid, just a few months ago? Now Mexico is the hero because they've sent .00001% of what Cuba would need to show any real improvement? How heroic. 

I guess all the Mexican Citizens who couldn't find work, food etc. for the last 18 months wont be heading to the border now? He's got them all squared away? What a joke.