2021 in Cuba explained

This article covers events in the year 2021 in Cuba.

See also: 2021 in the Caribbean.

Events

See also: COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba.

January and February

• January 1
  • The United States adds Banco Financiero International SA (BFI) to the Cuba Restricted List. The Trump administration is considering adding Cuba to its list of state-sponsored terrorism.^[1]
  • Cuba eliminates the "convertible peso" used in government establishments valued at 24 pesos/dollar for sales and 25 pesos/dollar for purchases. This is the first devaluation of the peso since the Revolution of 1959.^[2]
  • The minimum wage increases from 400 pesos to 2,100 pesos (USD $17 to USD $87).^[3]
• January 11 – The United States re-lists Cuba as State Sponsors of Terrorism. President Obama removed Cuba from the list in 2015.^[4]
• January 29
  • Thousands protest against and demand the resignation of Alpidio Alonso, Minister of Culture, for injuries and invasion of privacy. The demands came after a confrontation with entertainers and independent journalists who demanded more freedom of expression.^[5]
  • Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces report that five soldiers are killed in a crash in Holguín Province.^[6]
• January 30
  • The Pentagon pauses its plans to provide voluntary COVID-19 vaccines to the forty prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.^[7]
  • Ten teachers are killed and 24 injured in a bus accident in Güines, Mayabeque Province.^[8]
• February 6 – Labor Minister Marta Elena Feito Cabrera says the list of permitted small businesses will expand from 127 to 2,000 activities.^[9]
• February 18 – Granma denounces the popular song Patria y Vida (″Homeland and Life″) which is being popularized by Yotuel Romero, Descemer Bueno, Gente de Zona, Maikel Osorbo, and El Funky.^[10]
• February 26 – José Daniel Ferrer of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba (Patriotic Union of Cuba, UNPACU) is arrested in Altamira, Santiago de Cuba.^[11] The United States demanded his release.^[12]

March and April

• March 5 – Sandro Castro, 29, grandson of Fidel Castro, apologizes for showing off an expensive Mercedes-Benz at per hour while the country is facing an economic crisis and food shortages.^[13]
• March 6 – Seven migrants are stopped at Islamorada and one at Duck Key in the Florida Keys. The U.S. has returned 87 people from Cuba trying to reach Florida by sea since October 1, 2020.^[14]
• March 31 – Russia and Cuba begin two days of high-level diplomatic talks.^[15]
• April 19 – At the 8th Congress of the Communist Party, Raúl Castro officially resigned as the First Secretary, the most powerful position in Cuba.^[16] Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel is officially named First Secretary of the Communist Party following the resignation of Raúl Castro. He is the first person not of the Castro family to hold the top position since the 1959 Cuban Revolution.^[17]

July

• July 11 – Biggest anti-government protests in years over the worst economic crisis since the 1990s and surges in COVID-19 infections, with protesters expressing anger over shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties, and the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba.^[18]

Deaths

• January 14 – Enrique Pineda Barnet, 87, film director and screenwriter (I Am Cuba).^[19]
• January 18 – Juan Carlos Tabío, 77, film director (Strawberry and Chocolate, Lista de Espera, 7 Days in Havana).^[20]
• February 15 – Gregorio Américo Pérez Valdés, 79, baseball player; prostate cancer.^[21]
• March 3 – Dagoberto Planos Despaigne, 64, singer; cirrhosis.^[22]
• March 20 – Orbe Luis Rodríguez, 58, baseball player (Industriales, Metropolitanos); cardiorespiratory arrest.^[23]

See also

• 2021 Atlantic hurricane season
• COVID-19 pandemic in North America

External links

• A unified Cuban peso, the Times Square ball and cashless Sweden (Al Jazeera, January 1, 2021)
• Cuba tweaks socialist model to encourage work amid crisis (By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ, Associated Press, January 14, 2021

Notes and References

1. News: Trump administration adds Cuban bank to US restricted list . January 2, 2021 . . . January 1, 2021 . en.
2. Web site: Cuba planea primera devaluación del peso desde la revolución de 1959 . www.msn.com . . September 10, 2020.
3. News: Cuba to increase minimum salary fivefold . December 15, 2020 . msn.com . AFP . December 9, 2020.
4. News: Conradis . Brandon . Trump administration names Cuba a 'state sponsor of terrorism' . January 11, 2021 . . 11 January 2021 . en.
5. News: Miles de personas exigen la dimisión del ministro de Cultura cubano luego de que agredió a artistas y periodistas . January 29, 2021 . infobae . January 29, 2021 . es-ES.
6. News: Helicopter crash in Cuba kills five crew members . January 29, 2021 . . 30 January 2021 . en.
7. News: Axelrod . Tal . Pentagon pauses plan to offer coronavirus vaccine to Guantánamo Bay prisoners . January 30, 2021 . . 30 January 2021 . en.
8. News: Autobús cae por un puente en Cuba; hay 10 muertos . January 30, 2021 . El Informador :: Noticias de Jalisco, México, Deportes & Entretenimiento . January 30, 2021 . es-ES.
9. News: Franc . Marc . Cuba opens door to most small business initiatives . February 6, 2021 . . . February 6, 2021.
10. News: "Patria y Vida": la canción que enfurece y hace temblar a la dictadura de Cuba . February 18, 2021 . infobae . February 18, 2021 . es-ES.
11. News: El régimen cubano arrestó al líder opositor José Daniel Ferrer en Santiago . February 26, 2021 . infobae . February 26, 2021 . es-ES.
12. News: Estados Unidos pidió la "liberación inmediata" del líder opositor cubano José Daniel Ferrer . February 26, 2021 . infobae . February 26, 2021 . es-ES.
13. News: El nieto de Fidel Castro pidió disculpas por el video en el que se jacta de conducir un auto de lujo en medio de la crisis en Cuba . March 5, 2021 . infobae . March 5, 2021 . es-ES.
14. News: Goodhue . David . Eight migrants from Cuba were stopped off the Florida Keys. They were quickly sent back . March 8, 2021 . . . March 8, 2021.
15. News: Cuba y Rusia arrancan dos días de reuniones en La Habana . April 1, 2021 . jornada.com.mx . La Jornada . es.
16. Web site: Cuba's Raul Castro confirms he's stepping down, says he's 'fulfilled his mission'. 2021-04-19. NBC News. 16 April 2021 . en.
17. News: Cuba leadership: Díaz-Canel named Communist Party chief. . 19 April 2021 . 2021-04-20. en.
18. News: Frank. Mark. 11 July 2021. Thousands of protesters take to the streets in Cuba. Reuters. 11 July 2021.
19. https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2021-01-12-u1-e207888-s27061-fallece-cineasta-cubano-enrique-pineda-barnet Fallece en La Habana el cineasta cubano Enrique Pineda Barnet
20. https://www.france24.com/es/minuto-a-minuto/20210118-fallece-en-cuba-juan-carlos-tab%C3%ADo-codirector-de-fresa-y-chocolate Fallece en Cuba Juan Carlos Tabío, codirector de "Fresa y Chocolate"
21. http://www.acn.cu/deportes/76537-fallecio-en-las-tunas-gregorio-perez-ex-lanzador-de-equipo-cuba Falleció en Las Tunas Gregorio Pérez, ex lanzador de equipo Cuba
22. http://sierramaestra.cu/index.php/santiago-de-cuba/36679-fallecio-dagoberto-planos-despaigne-cantante-de-la-orquesta-karachi-2 Falleció Dagoberto Planos Despaigne cantante de la orquesta Karachi
23. https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2021-03-21-u192379-e192379-s27066-fallecio-habana-destacado-pelotero-orbe-luis-rodriguez Falleció en La Habana el destacado pelotero Orbe Luis Rodríguez