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The story behind the story: (Editor, Tim Trott)
The author is Michel Mir Jorge. The story is about Alberto Mendieta Ramos, a defiant young man driven by ideals of freedom under Castro. The book is a novel, but like any good fiction, there’s an element of truth behind it.
Cuba was not always under Communist rule. The country once briefly experienced democracy. In 1940, Cuba had a constitution, a house, a senate, a court system and a president. They elected Fulgencio Batista. Batista was only allowed to serve one term, but he seized power twelve years later in 1952. There was an election after that, but Batista made sure he was the only candidate, and there was no longer a constitution to stop him. He was stopped eventually by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Batista packed up and left the country. Part of what he packed for the trip was 300 million dollars.
Side note: in 1957, Batista bought a house in Daytona Beach, Florida. However, he didn’t bother paying taxes, so in 1987, the city sold it and it eventually became the home of the Greek Orthodox Church. You can find it at 129 North Halifax Avenue.
The author was once a history teacher in Cuba. You can imagine how that might create a problem. Michel ruffled some feathers and fled to South America but ended up in Mexico. He was taken into custody by corrupt Mexican police who stopped a bus he and others were riding in. After time in detention, he was deported from Mexico back to Cuba. From Cuba he fled again, this time to Surinam, the small country in South America that was once a Dutch colony. Concerned about the extensive presence of Cuban communists in much of South America, he was granted asylum in the United States, which was eventually granted, and he ended up in Orlando.
When he got to Orlando, he joined the Tandem mobile language learning app in an effort to practice his English with someone seeking to practice Spanish. I joined to practice Spanish. That’s how we met.
As you do with new friends, he asked what I do, and I said I’m a writer. Michel told me he was also a writer, working on a new book, which is to become Suriname Under Cover, a CIA Spy novel – in Spanish. I offered to help with the translation and editing. I figured it would be good practice for both of us.
After I translated the first few chapters, I realized this is EXCELLENT WRITING!
Michel told me it was his second book. The first book was left behind in Cuba. Sometime later, he surprised me with the news: he somehow managed to get the first book smuggled out of Cuba. I didn’t ask how. Like the author, the book had its own escape from Cuba.
That’s when we began work on Escape from Cuba, but the task involved more than a simple translation. A lot more.
First, there’s the matter of gender verbs. In Spanish, it doesn’t matter, but when translated, you begin losing track of who is the “he” or “she“. Fortunately, my small amount of Spanish education helped with that. Somewhat .
But it gets worse.
- The standard for English is something called Chicago Manual of Style which comes in two flavors: strict and informal.
- Spanish is formatted according to the Royal Spanish Academy standard, or RAE.
- Quotations are handled differently. Chicago style puts punctuation inside quotation marks, with RAE it’s outside.
- There are different standards for simple things like ellipses – space or no space?
- Dialog formatting for English uses quotation marks. Spanish dialog relies on em dashes.
Then there’s translation itself. Most of the time, online translations don’t do the job very well. Litteral word-by-word translations range from confusing to incorrect. Translating and reformatting sounds like a lot of work, and it is. The thing is, I saw from the translation of the first chapter; it was still really good writing.
But what about the book about?
Escape from Cuba is a gripping, unflinching narrative that pulls back the curtain on the brutal realities of life under an authoritarian regime. Through the intertwined lives of Alberto Mendieta Ramos—a defiant young man driven by ideals of freedom—and Andrés Jorge Molina—a seasoned dissident with a past etched in scars and survival—the novel paints a searing portrait of Cuba’s repressive political machinery.
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Set in the shadows of Havana’s decaying beauty and the suffocating grip of State Security, the story unfolds through interrogations, betrayals, acts of silent courage, and the harsh consequences of dissent. Alberto’s journey from a rebellious technician to a hunted man exposes the everyday corruption, cruelty, and psychological warfare used to maintain control. Alongside him, Andrés serves as both mentor and mirror, revealing what resistance costs—and what it redeems.
This book is both a political thriller and a human drama, told with raw authenticity and biting irony. From street-level hustling to the eerie halls of secret police facilities, Escape from Cuba explores identity, resistance, and the fierce resilience of those who refuse to be broken. A haunting and necessary read for anyone seeking to understand the human cost of dictatorship and the irrepressible desire for freedom.
Here’s the author’s personal story from Michel Mir Jorge:
“I was born in Guanabacoa, a small suburb of Havana, Cuba. From a very young age, I was passionate about literature almost as much as I was about my country’s freedom. As I grew up and read, I came to understand the world through books rather than through Communist Party propaganda. I always wanted to write and started early, but it wasn’t until now that I had the tools to make it a reality. My writing is my small contribution to the cause of freedom wherever that struggle takes place.
“Alberto’s story was born after my first attempt to escape Cuba and being deported from Mexico back to the Island. Crossing eight countries and traveling more than 2,000 miles by road, boat, and through jungles gave me a unique perspective to bring my literary projects to life, though they haven’t yet seen the light of day. Being deported was a difficult experience. For years, the government prevented me from leaving again, notifying me through an agent that I was “regulated.” Four years later, I managed to leave, this time to Surinam, where I lived for almost two years. That time allowed me to understand more about Latin America and broaden my cultural knowledge. However, unable to settle there—partly because of Cuba’s forceful presence in local politics—I once again embarked on the journey toward freedom, this time crossing 12 countries by land, just like before.
“Today, I write from exile, with the conviction that words are the best weapons for the people, that men are rescued one by one and not en masse as politicians and impoverishing strongmen would have us believe.”
A harrowing odyssey of defiance against Castro’s dictatorship, Michel Jorge’s Escape from Cuba intertwines Cold-War era tyranny with sharp, unsettling echoes of today’s global struggles for democracy.
Escape from Cuba is a gripping tale of defiance and survival in the shadows of tyranny. Through the eyes of Alberto Mendieta—a bold, street-smart young man who dares to challenge the oppressive Cuban regime—readers are thrust into a harrowing world where betrayal, brutality, and resilience collide. With hauntingly vivid detail, Michel Mir Jorge unveils a system designed to crush dissent, and the unbreakable spirit of those who refuse to bow. Part political exposé, part personal reckoning. Escape from Cuba is a visceral journey through fear, hope, and the human cost of freedom.
Escape from Cuba: A Novel of Survival, Revolution, and One Man’s Journey to Freedom – One hundred ninety-four pages, a cover, an e-book and a paperback later, and here we are. Escape from Cuba in paperback is set for release August 15th, 2025 with the e-Book Advance Reader Copy available prior to launch.
Later, in the second book, Alberto is back, in the novel, Suriname Under Cover, pressed into service by the CIA in return for assistance the provided in his Escape from Cuba.
You may also be interested in another book by Tim Trott:
Broken Border navigates the evolution of U.S. immigration policies, shedding light on the complexities of legal pathways and the challenges faced by aspiring immigrants and explores several potential and proposed solutions. It provides a critical evaluation of the historical ties between the U.S. and neighboring countries, proposing cooperative approaches that address root causes while respecting human rights. Broken Border tackles the controversies surrounding border enforcement and presents a balanced perspective on the role of border security and the importance of upholding humanitarian considerations. The book engages with the ongoing debates, considering the impact on local communities, national identity, and the global landscape.
By the way, the answer is probably not what you think. More HERE
