Gaviota, el grupo hotelero del Ejército cubano, mantiene fuera de servicio casi nueve de cada diez de sus habitaciones mientras promociona la reapertura de un hotel de lujo en Varadero.

La propia empresa reconoció el viernes que de las más de 30,000 habitaciones que dice poseer en toda la isla, solo 3,470 están operativas, según informó 14ymedio, sitio de noticias cubano independiente, en una nota sobre la situación del conglomerado turístico perteneciente a Gaesa.

El dato equivale apenas al 11.6% de la capacidad que el propio grupo exhibe en su página oficial, con instalaciones repartidas también por Holguín, Jardines del Rey, Baracoa y Santiago de Cuba.

La directora de Ventas de Gaviota, Elia Elena Cortés, detalló durante una presentación en el hotel Paseo del Prado, en La Habana, que las habitaciones activas se concentran en cuatro polos: La Habana, Varadero, Topes de Collantes y Cayo Santa María.

Según la ejecutiva, esa reducción ha permitido “mejorar la atención a los clientes” y “garantizar los suministros”, dijo ante 14ymedio.

El sector turístico en su peor momento en décadas

La isla recibió apenas 450,353 visitantes internacionales entre enero y agosto de 2026, un 64.4% menos que el año anterior.

Siete cadenas hoteleras extranjeras abandonaron el país y aerolíneas como Air Canada, Iberia, Air France y Turkish Airlines suspendieron sus vuelos por la crisis de combustible y la caída de la demanda.

La contracción no se limita al turismo. La Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe, organismo de las Naciones Unidas, proyecta una caída del producto interno bruto cubano del 10.3% para este año, la mayor contracción prevista entre los países de la región, según cifras divulgadas en los últimos días.

El desplome se agravó durante el verano. En agosto llegaron apenas 30,490 visitantes internacionales, por debajo de los 32,272 registrados en julio.

Los mercados emisores tradicionales también se derrumbaron: Canadá cayó más del 70% interanual y Rusia retrocedió una proporción similar, mientras España perdió cerca de dos tercios de sus visitantes respecto al año previo.

Un relanzamiento con nombre repetido en Cayo Libertad

En ese contexto, Gaviota presentó como una de las principales novedades de la temporada 2026-2027 la apertura, prevista para el 23 de octubre, del Playa Luxury Varadero. Se trata de un hotel de 85 habitaciones exclusivo para adultos, situado en Cayo Libertad, en el extremo de la península de Hicacos.

El establecimiento no es nuevo. Construido en 2005 como parte del complejo Marina Palace, funcionó primero como Cayo Libertad Royal Island y luego, bajo gestión de Barceló, como Cayo Libertad Club Premium.

Tras la salida de la cadena española pasó a manos de Blau, que lo explotó como Blau Privilege Cayo Libertad. Más tarde quedó integrado en la etapa de Posadas bajo la marca Fiesta Americana, hasta que Gaviota lo relanzó en agosto de 2025 con el mismo nombre que ahora vuelve a anunciar como “apertura”.

La propia plataforma de reservas de la empresa mantiene bloqueadas todas las fechas de octubre y solo ofrece disponibilidad a partir del 1 de noviembre.

Para entonces, una habitación cuesta desde USD 363 por noche, precio mínimo que confirma el posicionamiento de lujo del hotel en un mercado con escasa demanda.

Las sanciones estadounidenses y la salida de cadenas españolas

El golpe más reciente al sector llegó por la vía de las sanciones de Washington. La Administración estadounidense amplió este año las restricciones contra el Ministerio de Turismo cubano, lo que terminó por asfixiar a la estructura hotelera del Gobierno de la isla.

Ante ese escenario, Meliá comunicó el cese de toda su actividad en Cuba y alegó “notables dificultades” operativas, legales, económicas y financieras. Barceló e Iberostar también dejaron de operar y comercializar los hoteles que hasta entonces habían quedado al margen de las sanciones.

El primer ministro cubano, Manuel Marrero, reconoció en julio que el 73% de las instalaciones hoteleras del país permanecían cerradas y que alrededor de 25.000 trabajadores del sector se encontraban en situación de disponibilidad, es decir, sin actividad laboral asignada.

La reapertura de otros destinos, condicionada a las sanciones

Frank País Oltuski Rodríguez, vicepresidente del grupo, afirmó que la empresa estudia la reapertura de otros destinos durante la temporada alta. Sin embargo, reconoció ante 14ymedio que esa posibilidad dependerá de la situación del país y de las sanciones estadounidenses.

“Los clientes no se merecen perder Cuba”, lamentó el directivo.

Gaviota anunció además una edición especial del evento Cayotonazo, entre el 31 de diciembre y el 3 de enero, y aseguró que mantiene disponibles traslados privados y colectivos entre sus principales polos, además de excursiones y una flota de automóviles en puntos estratégicos del país.

El deterioro del destino, anterior a las sanciones de este año

El retroceso del turismo cubano no comenzó con las restricciones de este año. A finales de 2025, huéspedes de hoteles en Varadero, Holguín y otros polos denunciaban en Tripadvisor falta de variedad en la comida, instalaciones deterioradas, problemas de limpieza, restaurantes cerrados y fallos en servicios básicos.

A esos reclamos se sumaron los apagones y los problemas de transporte derivados de la crisis energética. La isla registró ocho desconexiones totales de su sistema eléctrico en lo que va de 2026, según constató la agencia EFE, un factor que también incide en la operación hotelera y en la experiencia de los visitantes.

Cuba fue además perdiendo competitividad frente a otros destinos del Caribe por sus precios, las dificultades cambiarias y las carencias de infraestructura fuera de los grandes complejos hoteleros.

A ello se añadieron la lenta recuperación tras la pandemia, la reducción de rutas aéreas y, a finales del año pasado, el impacto de las epidemias de dengue y chikunguña sobre la imagen del destino.

La isla cerró 2025 con algo más de 1,8 millones de visitantes internacionales, una cifra muy lejana a los más de cuatro millones anuales que recibía antes de la pandemia. Las nuevas sanciones de este año no originaron la crisis, pero sí profundizaron una caída que ya estaba en marcha desde antes.

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Former state trooper John Nagel pointed the finger at his opponent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and the Democratic Party for allowing Somali American gang-linked violence to escalate in the Twin Cities.

Residents of Eden Prairie and surrounding Twin Cities suburbs have been left fearing for their safety after a string of gang-related incidents this month, including the shooting of two teens outside an Eden Prairie High School football game and more than 100 shell casings recovered in a Bloomington neighborhood.

«Where is Ilhan Omar in all of this?» Nagel, a Minnesota native who spent 30 years as a state trooper, asked in an interview with Digital. 

«I would think that, as a congressman that represents this particular area, that she’d be at these meetings, or she’d have a statement, or she’d be sitting down and saying, ‘Hey, how can we help this? How could we stop this?’ And I don’t see her.»

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Nagel accused other Minnesota Democrats, including Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, of having their «heads in the sand» and preventing law enforcement from stopping the violence before it got out of control.

«They’re being restrained by politicians, people that are trying soft on crime, people that are trying to send somebody other than a police officer to take care of issues, and it’s not working,» Nagel said.

Looking at the responses of statewide leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, Nagel said the majority of Democrats «don’t want enforcement.»

«The people do,» he said. «They’re tired of it.»

Democrats have been too lenient on crime for years, according to Nagel, which he said has «emboldened» gang members to break the law without serious consequences.

«Because of how the Democrats have run Minnesota over the years, these gang members and then just crooks in general, they’re emboldened by this,» he said.

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Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher spoke at a news conference this week, highlighting that a «big chunk of the problem» is failing to hold gang members accountable, saying Moriarty’s office needs to be more «aggressive» with prosecuting juveniles.

In a statement to Digital, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for Moriarty’s office, said no cases related to the Bloomington incident have been submitted for charging consideration, but «they’ll be thoroughly reviewed» if they are.

Adam Abdihakeem Adam, 18, was charged Friday in the Eden Prairie homecoming football game shooting with two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree riot.

«Mr. Adam will be held accountable,» Moriarty said in a press release Friday. «Violence in our communities is completely unacceptable, and it requires a professional, coordinated response, which happened here.»

Fletcher also pushed back on «East African» being used to generalize the gang members’ ethnicity, adding that «98% of these gang members are Somali» and that the broader label isn’t «fair.»

«I think we just have to say what it is and not run away from the term,» he said.

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Nagel said people are afraid of being called «racist» for referring to the gangs as Somalian, arguing that law enforcement is simply going after those committing the crimes rather than blaming an entire community.

«I mean, we have Latino gangs and Asian gangs and Black gangs, and we have Somali gangs. This is not being prejudicial.»

He said it’s a «Somali problem» because that’s «who’s showing up.»

«It’s ridiculous,» he said. «I’m a police officer. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what color you are.»

Nagel said a «gang task force» could be part of the solution. 

«We don’t need to pass any more laws,» he argued. «We don’t need any more people asking for money to help their group. We need to take the laws that we have and prosecute people.»

As gang violence spills into Minnesota communities, Nagel said it can’t continue to go on like it has.

«We need enforcement, we need arrests and we need incarceration,» he said. «Otherwise, this is going to continue to spiral.»

Nagel will face off against Omar and Independent candidate DeVelle Jackson in the upcoming midterm elections for the U.S. House seat representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

Digital reached out to Omar, Walz and Ellison’s offices for comment.

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On Dec. 3, 2026, the U.S. government intends to take Nidal Hasan to a firing range at Fort Hood and publicly execute him.

Few condemned men could make a more difficult case for mercy.

Seventeen years ago, Hasan, an Army psychiatrist at the time, walked into a soldier readiness center at the Texas Army post and opened fire, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. Now, after years of appeals, the Army is preparing to execute him by firing squad.

And Americans will be able to watch on live stream.

That last detail has transformed what might otherwise have been the long-delayed conclusion of one of the darkest chapters in the Army’s history into a more uncomfortable question: How should a nation reckon with the gravity of taking a life, even when that life belongs to a mass murderer?

For Alonzo Lunsford, a former Army staff sergeant who survived being shot seven times by Hasan, the answer is complicated.

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Lunsford wants Hasan executed. He intends to witness it himself in December. He told Digital he would even prefer that one of Hasan’s surviving victims or the relatives of those he killed be allowed to pull the trigger.

Despite that, Lunsford says he has forgiven Hasan.

«The weird thing about it, I’ve forgiven him because my faith does not allow me to heal and continue unless I forgive that man,» Lunsford said.

But forgiveness, for Lunsford, does not mean sparing Hasan from punishment. What troubles him is the prospect of turning that punishment into entertainment.

«It’s not a spectacle,» he said. «There’s nothing glorified in the smell of human flesh, blood and gunpowder. It’s a smell you will never forget. It’s a taste that you will never forget.»

«That’s not something you sit around and say, hey, let’s get some popcorn and look at this execution,» he continued. «We as a people, we’re better than that. This ain’t no country where we do public beheadings and stonings and think it’s fine.»

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Lunsford was working at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center on Nov. 5, 2009, when Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, opened fire. He recalled watching Hasan kill a colleague before turning the weapon on him. Lunsford was shot above his left eye, fell to the floor and played dead before eventually escaping outside, where Hasan shot him again.

«I’ve accepted the fact I’m gonna live with the pain for the rest of my life,» Lunsford said.

He has since found purpose in coaching basketball, mentoring young people and helping others struggling with their mental health.

Lunsford said he doesn’t want children watching the livestream, though he believes adults can decide for themselves whether to tune in.

«This is not somewhere you all start throwing some meat on the grill, get outside and say, hey, we’re gonna watch them unalive this guy by firing squad,» he said. «Don’t do that.»

«Don’t do that because when you do that, you’re dishonoring those that made the supreme sacrifice, those who are no longer here. Those are heroes.»

War Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended making the execution public, saying Americans should understand the consequences of Hasan’s crimes.

«We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,» Hegseth said in an interview this week. «Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.»

Vice President JD Vance cast doubt Friday on whether the Pentagon would follow through with its plans to livestream Hasan’s execution, saying he had no intention of watching it himself.

«I see these announcements. I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen,» he told reporters Friday.

The decision for the first U.S. Army death by firing squad in 86 years to be live streamed has drawn opposition even from Republicans who support putting Hasan to death.

«I absolutely support the sentence of death, but live-streaming executions is what jihadists do. America is better than that,» Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., wrote on X.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., likewise said Hasan «should face the death penalty,» but called publicly streaming it «beyond disgusting.»

«Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do,» Tillis wrote. «It should not be happening in America.»

The nation’s Catholic bishops have gone further, opposing both Hasan’s execution and the decision to make it public. «In no way can Hassan’s actions be condoned but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered,» Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Friday.

«The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people.»

The decision has also raised a more immediate national security concern.

Hasan, who was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot during the 2009 attack, has previously spoken about becoming a martyr. Matthew Levitt, a former Treasury counterterrorism official and director of the Washington Institute’s Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, warned that making footage of his death widely available could give terrorist groups material to exploit.

«It seems like a poor decision to provide terrorist groups with a video clip they can effectively splice into radicalization propaganda,» Levitt told Digital.

«There’s no tangible benefit to live streaming an execution, and it may, in fact, exacerbate the terrorist threat.»

For Lunsford, however, the execution remains deeply personal.

During Hasan’s 2013 court-martial, the two locked eyes. Lunsford wants Hasan to see him again before he dies.

«I want to look at him in his eyes. I want him to see me — man to man,» Lunsford said. «My message to him: Dude, you failed.»

«I go where I wanna go, when I wanna go, how I wanna go. With no fear,» he said. «I can go outside and just smell and listen to nature. You don’t have that luxury.»

And despite everything Hasan took from him, Lunsford said he hopes the condemned man uses his final moments to repent.

«I want to give him the opportunity to, the last words out of his mouth is to apologize and repent,» Lunsford said. «And be held accountable for his sins and for his crime. And I will be OK with that.»

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