Friday, December 4, 2015

Intensified Vigilance Against Fish and Yogurt Sellers in Mayabeque

Intensified Vigilance Against Fish and Yogurt Sellers in Mayabeque /
14ymedio, Carmona Osniel Breijo
Posted on December 3, 2015

14ymedio, Osniel Carmona Breijo, Guines, 3 December 2015 – "Anyone with
more than five pepinos [the liter-and-a-half plastic bottles that are
standard for homemade yogurt] can get off now." This phrase, according
to Nereida, a 61-year-old seller of illegal yogurt, serves the police as
their "calling card" when they stop public transport for an inspection.

Agents from the Ministry of the Interior's different departments in
Mayabeque province, in collaboration with inspectors from the Fishing
Industry, have heightened their vigilance in recent months against
underground sellers of fish and yogurt.

Self-employed people are forbidden to trade in these products, as they
are in beef, coffee, honey, tobacco and cocoa, by Decree Law 318, which
requires these products to be sold only to the State through existing
contracts.

However, economic difficulties push fisherman and dairy farmers to look
for alternatives in the underground market. On multiple occasions they
end up facing stiff fines and risk the confiscation of their merchandise.

Orlando Cuevas, a farmer in the village of El Sopapo in the Batabano
district, says that there is "nothing written, but if you don't give the
milk to the government, they slap you with a fine and can take away your
animals. It is an outrage, and on top of that they pay you less than
three pesos a liter, depending on the quality of the milk, when private
buyers never pay less than five pesos.

Many farmers, to evade their commitments for the milk and to increase
their earnings, don't declare their entire production and make it into
yogurt, which they then sell to street vendors. However, the police
controls limit the number of containers of the product a person can
transport.

The agents stop the vehicles and search the belongings of the
passengers, mainly on public transport. According to the testimony of
Nereida, on every trip the authorities detect some passenger outside the
regulations. As a punishment, they impose fines of between 200 and 800
pesos, and seize the yogurt containers.

The controls can be mocked thanks to the solidarity of other travelers.
"We look for people who are traveling who aren't carrying anything and
we distribute the yogurt among them, so that it's within the
regulations. When it goes badly and they catch us, we get off but we
take off the lids and empty all the bottles, because they are going to
take it from you anyway and fine you. If you leave it they get it,"
Nereida adds.

A sergeant of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) said that the
seized yogurt is consumed in children's homes, maternity homes and old
people's homes.

As for fishing, since October the PNR has intensified its searches on
roads that provide access to fishing villages, in the homes of non-state
fishermen, and in the homes of presumed recipients.

In a recent operation in the area known as "Playita" (Little Beach) in
Surgidero de Batabano, PNR forces and local Fishing Industry inspectors
intercepted a "smuggling operation."

According to Yunior Castellanos, a local resident, the authorities
seized about two tons of fish and half a ton of lobster. The boat used
in the transfer was seized and the three fishermen and five receivers
involved were detained. Some others managed to escape through the mangroves.

In other localities such police actions are also reported. A fisherman
from Cajío village, who preferred not to be identified, said that the
sale of seafood declined in recent days due to the authorities'
harassment of fishermen and street vendors.

The strict operation has included the inspection of private boats at
sea. "They intercept you on the pretext of looking for people leaving
the country illegally, and search the cargo," commented a fisherman. "If
there is a lot, you have to show the licenses and contracts to be able
to justify it. If you don't have them, they take your load, fine you and
you have to complete a ton of paperwork to get your boat back," he says.

The problems don't end there. "After you dock, you have to get rid of
it, because the police inspect every car on the road to the village,
coming or going. The sellers don't want to risk it."

The focus of the searches and arrests also extends to Santa Cruz. José
Víctor Fresneda engages in sport fishing there, and takes the
opportunity to sell what is caught. According to Fresneda, last 19 and
24 November, the PNR conducted a series of raids on the homes of
citizens engaged in selling fish.

As a result, he says, there were two people detained, where they found
"quite a few pounds of fish, mostly frozen."

Source: Intensified Vigilance Against Fish and Yogurt Sellers in
Mayabeque / 14ymedio, Carmona Osniel Breijo | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/intensified-vigilance-against-fish-and-yogurt-sellers-in-mayabeque-14ymedio-carmona-osniel-breijo/

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