BREAKING NEWS – UPDATED

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Reports from Cuba are that Cuban TV is showing the flag at half-mast and showing old footage from the start of the revolution.

More details as they become available.

  1. UPDATE (Henry): None of the local media that would be monitoring Cuban broadcasts is confirming these reports at this point. Stay tuned.
  2. UPDATE (Pitbull): The original came from report from WQBA via the show with Jose Alfonso Almora and Bernadette Pardo. Reliable sources with these contacts would be appreciated. Email me at spectator AT babalublog DOT com.
  3. UPDATE (Val): I just want to interject here that two of Cuba’s telecommunications directors were removed from office last week and replaced with new Information Technology and Communications Minister Ramiro Valdes. This guy is old school and we should take these reports with skepticism as this could all be part and parcel of an old Soviet style misinformation campaign.
  4. UPDATE (Henry): We are hearing that this is perhaps not the death we have been anxiously awaiting but a death nonetheless. Raul Castro’s wife, Vilma Espin, has been allegedly very sick in recent months and weeks. A very visible person in Cuba’s Revolution since the beginning, Espin’s death would make sense as the reason for flags at half staff, etc.
  5. UPDATE: More information from Charlie Bravo.

34 thoughts on “BREAKING NEWS – UPDATED”

  5. This is so creepy. Last night I dreamt that I visited Cuba. And this morning I woke up with a weird feeling, like maybe today would be the day. Seriously.

  7. Today is the 46th anniversary of the CDR so that is likely the reason for the antics. Lets put the champagne away. I ain’t fallin for another of these he said, she said, my cousins third wife twice separated knows someone who might have heard from someone that something may have happened. Until its announced by Cuba I ain’t bitin.

  8. I completely agree! Cojelo con takit eazy!! BUT…I do think we need to be prepared…let me be the first to announce a million cuban march on calle ocho when all the international news arrives in miami!!! Lets not let this one pass us by again…we are prepared for anything now! Imagine what a great thing to see on CNN,MSNBC,and FOX…a million cubans praying for freedom and demanding an end to tyranny!!! Not celebrating persay…but mourning for the lives that this regime has taken!

  9. I’m not biting either pototo, but last night when I got home Ninoska (my mother swears by everything on her show) was on the news (Spanish media) speaking about the message she got from the brother of the Cuban spy that returned to Cuba, that he was under arrest, etc…. I waited a half hour or so and logged on to see if you guys were posting anything about this and saw nothing. You guys are my NINOSKA. So, what’s going on with that?

  10. Nydia,

    Roque, has, in fact been imprisoned. I havent posted on it because basically its a non story. They’ve been cleaning house for months on the island.

    Pototo,

    I believe yesterday was the CDR anniversary. Charlie Bravo tells me that it could be that the “celebrations” were postponed for today because of the fire at the refinery.

    Still though, even it the TV images are part of some sort of holiday, I find it hard to see why they would be showing a flag at half mast.

  11. I thought the same. I know there was a death in the refinery fire, so I thought maybe that was the reason for the half mast flags. That is not to say that I’m not hoping and praying for the mother of broadcasts.

  14. I sent this out today, it would be good news if it were true…well it has to happen some day

    AP believes Raul Castro may be among the living dead

    Symbolic of the common lack of knowledge of the Cuban condition by the international media is a report by Vanessa Arrington of Associated Press. This report from Cuba states in part: “His speech, which closed the union’s 19th congress in Havana, earned him a standing ovation from the crowd of about 1,400 people, which chanted “Vive Raul!”â€? (footnote 1). Unfortunately for Vanessa this means: “Is Raul alive?â€?

    Footnote 1 Vanessa Arrington (accessed 9-29-06) “Raul Castro urges labor union to lead Cuba’s corruption fightâ€? http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/15625327.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_cuba

  15. it has been perhaps 50 years since Vilma Espin betrayed Frank Pais and helped consolidate communist control of the July 26 movement.

  16. Nothing on Fox News, but between a White House press conference and another tape from Crackhead Zawahiri…
    In any case, it’s too bad the only Cuban restaurant around here reportedly has a big mural of Che. If it’s the real thing, I’m with y’all Miamians in spirit.

  17. whats iraq got to do with this? whats important to me is not going to be important to you? Lord knows ive had diagreements with people on this blog, but geez what does this have to do with the price of tea in china? there are those that DO NOT consider themselves americans first.,, my grandfather had become a citizen for a job that he took, but ill never forget when he told me when it came time to take the oath, he didnt say it, he simply stood up raised his hand and mumbled some words.. im sure there are those here who feel the same, i got an aunt, and her and her father (now desceaced) got here in 1961 and wont/ didnt become citizens on principle alone.. you wanna argue cuba/ castro/ celebrating his demise go ahead but geez iraq? gimme a break..

  19. Jane, please find someone that can translate and explain to you that your comment in relation to the posting could be compared to an arroz con mango. They kind of don’t go together.

  21. Jane,
    Let’s (try) to see your logic. You would prefer that Saddam Hussein still be in power? Using that logic, we should have left Hitler in power.

    Let’s let Al-Qaeda run rampant in Iraq. Let help them get Salmon-Pak functional again (you know, Salmon-Pak is where they trained terrorists how to hijack planes).

    What does Iraq have to do with what we are discussing now other than the fact that both Iraq and Cuba either have or have had brutal dictators?

    Please spare us the bullcrap!

  22. Jane, do you really read this blog? What demands are you talking about?

    Bush didn’t win both elections because only Cubans voted for him. There were many 100% Americanos who voted for him too. Are they crazy also?

    You need to grow up!

  23. Jane, you’re the one who’s name calling and saying that Cubans are crazy.

    Yet, you don’t make any sense and are all over the place with your ridiculous and yes – CHILDISH accusations. You’re bringing up the Iraq war into this thread makes no sense at all! Lo tuvistes que traer pol los pelos!

    By the way, our Brave Soldiers in Iraq are not being “picked off” as you so disrespectfully put it. They are fighting like the Proud and Brave Americans that they are. So quit insulting and if you disagree…at least have the respect to make sense. And I repeat GROW UP!!!!!!!!!1

  24. Jane,

    Don’t give us that line…it’s obvious that you were ashamed to be whatever you are long before you came on this blog.

    If you can’t stand to be criticized then, don’t make
    absurd accusations. Honestly, I’ve had more intelligent discourse with my 15 year old.

  26. Jane,

    You come ontu a blog thread that has to do with Fidel’s demise. You attack the people who’ve been posting their thoughts. You tell them to worry about Iraq and not Fidel. First of all, check out why this blog even exists. Secondly if you want to talk about Iraq, by all means go post where ever they’re discussing it. Thirdly, who insults a bunch of people and expects not to be called out about it. You remind me of Chavez

    This isn’t a news channel it is a blog. The writers, write about what they please, whether it is news or not. The commenters, comment on the post not about their coffee. Stop acting so naive.

  27. Jane this blog is like our home, how rude of you to come here and insult us. You want to complain about Cubans waiting for fidel to die? You want to insult members of our armed forces? You are free to do so, but not here. You know where the back button is. You admire Jane Fonda? A woman who should have been tried for treason? How telling.

  29. Please—what do events in Cuba have to do with Iraq?

    These nice folks would like to see the places where they were born, see relatives they never met, and rebuild the country of their birth. Wait, maybe I do see a commonality with Iraq—-so here’s an idea:

    Why don’t you take your infinite liberal wisdom to some Iraqi-American blog. I’m so sure you will get the appreciation you deserve.

  30. if you dont understand the story about how my grandfather didnt actually say the oath, and saw it as him not taking it seriously, im not even going to try explaining…. geez you cant see the forrest for the freakin trees..

  31. and just for shits and giggles, im gonna make an accusation with no foundation, just a hunch, jane is a sock puppet, something about the writing style, this person has posted before under a different name.. could be wrong, wouldnt be the first, wont be the last, but theres just something in the writing style..

  32. Good point Daniel. I thought the same thing. Maybe Jane is channeling Latina-Chick novelists, or restaurant owners, or maybe it’s someone who writes on another blog who has a secret identity. Who knows…

  33. Jane,

    It’s quite evident that you haven’t been reading Babalu.blog long enough to understand where we are coming from. You ridicule and offend us and when we challenge you, the only comeback you can come up with is: “in this blog everyone has to agree or be shut out.” Obviously, since you don’t have a good argument to present or to defend, you attack.

    I don’t know what your political affiliation is (nor do I care) but what I’ve been able to ascertain from reading your comments is that you have an unabashed hatred for President Bush. Unfortunately for you, that hatred is being transferred to those that for one reason or another, still support the President. By the way, I have REAL American shoes and also a DEEP love for this country, that is why I THANK God everyday that John Kerry lost the election.

    This may come as a surprise to you, but ever since the American Revolution, Cubans have been fighting along side our fellow Americans. Many Cuban-Americans have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since the war began, so please don’t insult us by insinuating that we don’t care about the war and its casualties. We ARE those families you talk about. We too HAVE family and friends in the Middle East

    As for your reference to this blog… This is a blog for Cuba “an island on the net without the bearded dictator” so you will find that the majority of the posts on the blog deal with Cuban related events. That is not to say that as Cuban-Americans we don’t care about Iraq, Israel, Afghanistan, North Korea, etc. We just don’t discuss those issues here as often as we do with issues related to Cuba.

    You call us pathetic because we are “waiting with bated breath to see if Castro has passed?” I call us hopeful. Do you want to know why? Because we finally see the BEAST mortally wounded. After almost 48 years of the castro brothers and their corrupt and evil regime, there is hope for freedom for the Cuban people. YES! We are waiting for castro to DIE with the same alacrity the Jewish people waited for Hitler to die, the Italians for Mussolini and the Russians for Stalin. There is an old joke from WWII about Hitler and a fortune teller… It goes like this: “The palmist looked up at Hitler saying, Mein Fürer, you are going to die on a Jewish holiday. His curiosity piqued, he asked, which one? She answered; any day you die will be a Jewish holiday.” This is how we feel about castro. We will begin celebrating on that day!

    Anyhow, how dare you pass judgment on us when you don’t even know us? How dare you ignore the plight and the suffering of the Cuban people? The following statement: “your complaining that the news doesn’t pay enough attention to the jailed political prisoners, and librarians and any others? At least they are alive?” is incredibly insensitive and inhumane! Do you have ANY idea what goes on behind those prison walls? Don’t you know about the torture and abuse those prisoners have to endure? How about the degradation and intimidation their families have to live with? But who cares, right? After all – in your opinion – as long as they’re not dead they can endure imprisonment and torture for another 50 years. I’m sorry if it offends you that we spend time and energy in speaking out on their behalf. We (Cuban exiles) are their ONLY advocates.

    Also, please enlighten me… Whatever did you mean by the following: “What if every single group/ethnicity complaints of how their countrymen are being treated back in the home country? We would have troops everywhere in the world.” I’m really, really confused! Where did you get the idea that Cuban-Americans want the U.S. to invade Cuba now? That’s the same rhetoric Liberals always use about Cuban exiles.

    As for “the Cuba issue” clouding our minds, please, let me put your MIND at rest. Speaking for myself, I’ve always voted for what is right for the United States. If you think for one minute that I or any of my fellow Cuban-Americans (except you of course) will ever vote for the likes of Charlie Rangel, Christopher Dodd, Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Hilary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, John Rockefeller, Howard Dean, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and José Serrano, you must be the one smoking the weed. These spineless “pillars” of the democratic party are turning this country away from everything our forefathers fought for. Besides that, they will never, as you so nicely put it “support OUR cause”

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