International
Cuban dissident says flight to Spain is ‘blow’ to opposition
AFP
Leading Cuban protest leader Yunior Garcia acknowledged Thursday that his flight to Spain following pressure from the authorities on the island was a “painful blow” to the opposition movement.
Garcia, who arrived unexpectedly in Madrid Wednesday with activist wife Dayana Prieto on a tourist visa, added he has no intention to seek asylum in Spain, and had left Cuba because he faced a “living death”.
The 39-year-old actor and playwright is the founder of online discussion group Archipelago which had called for protests in Cuba on Monday that were blocked by the Cuban government.
“I understand that it was a painful blow,” he told a news conference in Madrid when asked about the disappointment expressed by other Cuban dissidents over his abrupt departure.
“I will eventually forgive myself, perhaps for not having had the courage to turn myself to stone or become a bronze statute,” he added.
“Maybe I ask forgiveness for being human, for thinking about my wife and my life, and for escaping what was surely going to be a living death, because that is what awaited me in Cuba.”
Garcia has been the target of a relentless weeks-long campaign to discredit him in Cuban state media and pro-government blogs after Archipelago notified the authorities of the planned march.
He attempted to march alone on Sunday but was prevented from leaving his apartment after police and government supporters surrounded the building.
When he tried to communicate with journalists and others by displaying a white rose at his window, people standing on the roof unfurled a huge Cuban flag to cover the window.
Garcia told the Madrid news conference that his entire family had been “harassed” by the regime and his supporters, his wife told she would lose her teaching post and two decapitated pigeons were left outside his house.
– ‘Totally silenced’ –
“It was something orchestrated by state security forces” to scare us, he said, adding he plans to return to Cuba with his wife once their lives there are no longer “in danger”.
“I am certain the strategy of the regime was to keep me locked at home…totally silenced…the only thing I have is my voice and I could not remain quiet. Someone has to say what is happening in Cuba.”
During an interview with Onda Cero radio, Spanish minister for the presidency Felix Bolanos said Madrid had helped Garcia “with documentation” to facilitate his travel to Spain, without giving further details.
“What we did was a way of helping guarantee that this person would not have difficulties (in Cuba),” he said.
Born in the eastern city of Holguin, Garcia was long known only in the arts world — for his plays, as well as his television and movie scripts.
But since November 27, 2020, when hundreds of artists demanded more freedom of expression at a protest in Havana, he has taken on another role — one of the faces of a new generation critical of the government.
Cuban authorities have accused Garcia, without offering any proof, of being paid by the United States as part of a plot to destabilise the country, a charge he denies.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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