International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day, Solidarity between women from Cuba and Iran, and misogyny by regimes in Havana and Tehran

“Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees.” – Fidel Castro, Tehran, May 2001

osa María Payá Acevedo of Cuba and Masih Alinejad of Iran addressed the plight of their home countries, with a special focus on the treatment of women in their respective nations on March 5, 2026. Today is International Women’s Day and it provides an opportunity to examine an instance of transnational solidarity between Cuban and Iranian women.

Rosa María had spoken up for Iranian women in the past.

In an urgent appeal sent out on November 1, 2022, a number of prominent Cuban American women asked President Biden to remove “the murderous Iranian regime from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.”

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on October 15, 2022 called on President Biden to demand the removal of Iran from the U.N. Women’s Rights Commission in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini (age 22), and the ongoing bloody crackdown that continues to intensify.

Carmen Julia Arias, a former political prisoner; Kristina Arriaga, former vice chair, Commission on International Religious Freedom, former member of US delegation to UN Human Rights Commission, scholar; Sirley Avila Leon, human rights activist; Rosa María Payá, founder and director, CubaDecide and Fundación para la Democracia Panamericana; Carolina Barrero, art historian, human rights activist (Spain) and Rosa Carbonell, a community activist, led the appeal.

These Cuban American women called attention to the Iranian people protesting the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022 by the morality police of the misogynist mullahs. In addition they asked if perhaps First Lady Jill Biden “could ask women leaders around the world to call on Iran to stop its repression of women.”

Also signing the appeal were Olga Connor, PhD, university professor and author; Belkis Cuza Male, poet, Linden Lane Magazine publisher; Miriam de la Peña, human rights activist; Ileana Fuentes, feminist activist and author; and Janisset Rivero, human rights activist  and author.

The Islamist Iranian theocracy had announced over a 1,000 Iranians arrested in protests over the murder of Mahsa Amini in Tehran would be subjected to summary trials, and over another thousand outside of Iran, according to The Guardian. Since protests erupted in Iran in mid September 2022, over 32,700 Iranian protesters were estimated to have been killed, according to journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad.

 

Below is the text of the appeal to President Biden.

November 1, 2022

President Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Biden:

We are Cuban women who are writing to ask your help on a very important matter: removing the murderous Iranian regime from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

We urge you to respond affirmatively to Ambassador Nikki Haley’s request for your support on this matter. The Iranian people are protesting the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the police of the misogynist mullahs. Parallel to your effort, First Lady Jill Biden perhaps could ask women leaders around the world to call on Iran to stop its repression of women.

We would be remiss if we did not call your attention, also, to the plight of Cuban women unjustly imprisoned in the island for their participation in widespread peaceful protests.

Thank you very much for your kind consideration.

Respectfully,

Carmen Julia Arias, former political prisoner

Kristina Arriaga, former vice chair, Commission on International Religious Freedom; former member of US delegation to UN Human Rights Commission; scholar

Sirley Avila Leon, human rights activist (Florida)

Rosa María Payá, founder and director, CubaDecide and Fundación para la Democracia Panamericana

Carolina Barrero, art historian, human rights activist (Spain)

Rosa Carbonell, community activist (Connecticut)

Maria Juana Cazabón, translator, human rights activist (Florida)

Olga Connor, PhD, university professor and author (Florida)

Belkis Cuza Male, poet, Linden Lane Magazine publisher (Texas)

Miriam de la Peña, human rights activist (Florida)

Ileana Fuentes, feminist activist and author (Florida)

Sandra Gómez, MD, neurologist and author (Alabama)

Deborah Gómez, PhD, college professor and author (Florida)

Angelica Franganillo Diaz , university student (Georgetown, Washington, DC)

Kiele Alessandra Cabrera , Jóvenes por la Resistencia (Florida)

Iliana Lavastida, journalist (Florida)

Maritza Lugo, Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, former political prisoner

Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez, Baptist missionary, author (Maryland)

Adriana Méndez Rodenas, PhD, university professor and author (Missouri)

Elena Montes de Oca, college professor, human rights activist and poet (Florida)

Alicia Perez, MD, physician (Maryland)

Lourdes Quirch Zayas-Bazán, president, National Association of Cuban American Educators (Florida)

Yarai Reyes, member, Ladies in White

Janisset Rivero , human rights activist and author (Florida)

Victoria Ruiz Labrit, human rights activist (Florida)

Martha Valladares, human rights activist (Florida)

Josefina Vento, DDS, dentist (Florida)

The letter was featured in the Cubanet and Marti Noticias news outlets in November 2022. The 54-member United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on December 14, 2022 adopted a resolution introduced by the United States to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the remainder of its four-year term that ends in 2026.  The resolution passed by 29 to 8 with 16 abstentions.Below is a breakdown of the vote.

The mullahs in Iran did not improve their behavior, nor did their ally in Havana criticize their beating and murdering of women in Iran. The Cuban government never issued any public criticism of the killing of Mahsa Amini or other Iranian women killed or beaten for not wearing the hijab. Nor did the Cuban government criticize the mass killings of anti-government protesters in Iran during the first months of 2026. Instead, Cuba opposed international efforts to condemn Iran’s actions, including by voting against a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution that denounced the bloody crackdown.

The Cuban dictatorship did however repeatedly praise the Islamist regime in Iran, and highlighter their long time relationship on national days and important anniversaries. Although Cuban officials did not comment on women and girls murdered by the Mullahs, Miguel Diaz-Canel did visit the Iranian Embassy in Havana to sign the book of condolences for the death of Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

Violence against woman is not unique to Iran, and their Cuban allies have also dealt violently with non-violent female dissenters.

Cuban activist Daniela Roja, exiled in Germany, reported over her X account that “Marianela Peña Cobas was arrested by police after participating in one of the recent pot-banging protests in #Cuba. Her sister, Marisol Peña Cobas, reported on social media that her sister was brutally beaten, released, and is now in these terrible conditions. This is happening in #Cuba. For them, there is no Happy Women’s Day.”

 

 

Marianela Peña Cobas beaten by Cuban government agents.

Havana has been an ally of the Islamic regime of Iran since the Ayatollahs took over in 1979, and the Castro brothers met with them regularly over the decades. During a May 2001 visit to Tehran, Fidel Castro proclaimed,”Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees.”

On June 15, 2023 Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel. “This visit reinforced our conviction that we have in Iran a friendly nation in the Middle East, with which to confide … and talk about the most complex global issues,” said Diaz-Canel, reported Nelson Acosta of the Reuters bureau in Cuba.

President Ebrahim Raisi visited the dictatorships in Venezuela and Nicaragua before arriving at the regime that spawned both of them.

Miguel Diaz-Canel and Ebrahim Raisi in Havana, Cuba on June 15, 2023

In Venezuela, President Raisi met with Nicolas Maduro and ” spoke about the need to confront the US and create a ‘new world order‘ that would overturn the US-led world order that has existed since the end of the Cold War.”

In December 2023, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei welcomed Cuban president Diaz-Canel to Tehran, stating that their strategic alliance “can take a common and effective position on important international issues such as the Palestinian issue.”

The Islamic regime in Iran does not mince words, and during the Obama Administration, when many were hailing the deal reached with Tehran, the Ayatollah continued to announce the destruction of Israel. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, then Iran’s supreme leader, during a speech at the Imam Khomeini Mosque in Tehran in September 2015, said Israel “will not see (the end) of these 25 years.” This was just three months after the Iran nuclear deal was announced on July 14, 2015 in which Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

This is the Islamist – Communist nexus that is profoundly anti-Israel, anti-American, and misogynist. It passes through Havana, Cuba to Tehran, Iran and has networks around the world that stretch back decades to the 1966 Tricontinental.

On International Women’s Day it is important to remember that threats to women come from many quarters.

 

 

Read Full Article

 

 

 

Center for a Free Cuba 417 West Broad Street, Suite 204 Falls Church, VA 22046 www.cubacenter.org

In Defense of Intolerance

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 451 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon. In Defense of Intolerance (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

Intolerance has a disproportionally bad reputation. It is commonly defined as the unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differs from one’s own, and is often equated with bigotry and narrow-mindedness. In some cases, such as that of religious intolerance, the bad reputation is warranted and intolerance must be fought. French philosopher Voltaire provides us such an example with his vigorous defense of religious toleration in the historical Jean Calas case. Jean Calas was a Huguenot (French Protestant) merchant in Toulouse, France in the 1700s. France was then a mostly Roman Catholic country. Catholicism was the state religion and individuals did not have the legal right to practice different faiths. On October 1761, one of Calas sons, MarcAntonie, was found dead in the family’s shop. It was then rumored that Jean Calas had killed his son because MarcAntonie intended to convert to Catholicism. Anti-Huguenot hysteria broke out among the Roman Catholic populace, and Calas was arrested and charged with having murdered his son to prevent his conversion to Catholicism. At first Calas attributed the crime to an unknown intruder, but later insisted that his son had committed suicide. It seems that, since suicide was then considered a crime against oneself, and the dead bodies of suicides were desecrated, Calas had arranged for his son’s suicide to look like a murder. Despite overwhelming evidence that the death was a suicide, Calas was brutally tortured in an attempt to get him to admit his guilt. He was broken on the wheel, strangled, and then burned to ashes, but he declared his innocence to the very end. Voltaire became interested in the case, and through a vigorous press campaign the philosopher convinced public opinion that anti-Protestant prejudices had influenced the case and that MarcAntonie had, in fact, committed suicide. Ultimately Jean Calas was posthumously exonerated and Voltaire, in his Treatise on Tolerance (1763), used the case to criticize the Catholic Church for its intolerance. But, what about other forms of intolerance such as political intolerance? We live in a pluralistic democratic society that demands tolerance for political views. And yet, today’s political Left, in university campuses and elsewhere, has shown great political intolerance by demonizing those with a different world view as being evil or stupid. The problem with this intolerance is not only its uncivility, but that it fosters an “intellectual monoculture.” This indolent intolerance is self-contradictory. On the other hand, there is a relativist version of politically correct tolerance that is seriously misguided. This view holds that a tolerant person must be impartial and must take a neutral posture towards all other convictions. This relativist view maintains that no ideas are any better or truer than any other and therefore no judgement must be allowed. This toleration is also irrational. Some ideas are better than others, and there is such as thing as virtuous intolerance. Our social discourse often claims that intolerance is unacceptable, and argues for the eradication of intolerance. This is nonsense; intolerance can be a force for good. I am intolerant of the idea that our civil liberties should be restricted on the basis of gender, or race, or religion. I am intolerant of collectivist ideas that constraint our freedoms. I am intolerant of fundamentalist religions that are incompatible with democratic governance. I am intolerant of pedophiles. And I am intolerant of intellectual cowards that hurl insults instead of engaging in intelligent debate. I guess I am not a very tolerant person. It is not a question of tolerance or intolerance, but of championing truth, sound reasoning, and goodness. Tolerance should not be an end in itself, and intolerance should not always be demonized. Intolerance is necessary to fight falsehoods and subjugation. Oppressed peoples should not be asked to be more tolerant of their governments; they should be encouraged to be visibly intolerant. Sometimes, as Voltaire, we must fight intolerance. Other times, as Rosa Parks, we must be intolerant, disobey authority, and sit in front of the bus. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

67 years of prisoners of conscience in communist Cuba: Where is the outrage?

“The noblest way to avenge an insult is not to imitate he who has offended us.” – Jorge Manuel Valls Arango 1933 – 2015, a Cuban prisoner of conscience and a poet he spent 20 years and 40 days in a Cuban prison

Selection of the over 1,200 political prisoners jailed today in Cuba. [ Office of Carlos A. Gimenez ]

There is talk of change in Cuba, and since the capture of Nicolas Maduro on January 3, 2026 there is also hope that it can take place soon. Existing U.S. law outlines what real change in Cuba would look like, and it has three fundamental conditions: 1) The liberation of all political prisoners. 2) The legalization of all political parties, labor unions, and the press. 3) The scheduling of free, multiparty elections for the Cuban people. This would immediately end the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba. Former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who passed away last year, drove this point home in July of 2021 following massive nation wide anti-government protests.

Freedom House on March 6, 2026 highlighted the cases of two Cubans, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel ‘Osorbo’ Castillo in their social media.

Today we recognize the courage of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Pérez, who used their art to push back against the Cuban government’s restrictions on artistic freedom and expression—and were unjustly imprisoned for it. We reiterate our call for their immediate… pic.twitter.com/PPqT05FDXY

— Freedom House (@freedomhouse) March 6, 2026

There are currently identified over one thousand two hundred prisoners of conscience in Cuba. Most were jailed for taking part in nationwide protests in July 2021 demanding freedom, human rights, and an end to dictatorship. This is a partial number gathered by non-governmental organizations. Official numbers are not provided by the Cuban government.

Cuban prisoners of conscience have been a reality in Cuba since 1959. Some of them participated in the struggle against Batista, and made Fidel Castro’s rise to power possible, but there nonviolent dissent condemned them to decades imprisoned.

Huber Matos, a school teacher, declared himself in opposition to Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952 the day that Cuban democracy came under attack. Following the extrajudicial killing of some of his former students he joined the armed struggle and ended up being one of the leaders of the revolutionary insurrection that drove Batista from power early on New Year’s Day 1959.

 

 

Huber Matos fought against Batista. Spent 22 years jailed for nonviolent dissent with communist rule.

Less than a year later he would be on trial for his life. What was his crime? Warning Fidel Castro in several private letters, where he tendered his resignation only to have it refused, that communists were infiltrating the revolutionary government. In these letters he plainly stated:

“I did not want to become an obstacle to the revolution and I believe that if I am forced to choose between falling into line or withdrawing from the world so as not to do harm, the most honorable and revolutionary action is to leave.”

Fidel Castro made the letters public generating the crisis and denouncing the charge that communists were infiltrating the government. He ordered Camilo Cienfuegos, another popular revolutionary leader, to arrest Matos. The Castro brothers began to prepare a show trial and the execution by firing squad of Huber Matos for treason.

The revolutionary tribunal was prepared. Fidel Castro spoke to Matos promising that if he confessed to everything that he would not face any prison time and could go home. Matos refused, and as the show trial began and they tried to shut him up – he refused. He went on to speak for more that three hours and concluded his testimony stating:

“I consider myself neither a traitor nor a deserter. My conscience is clear. If the court should find me guilty, I shall accept its decision – even though I may be shot. I would consider it one more service for the revolution.”

Revolutionary officers that had been convened at the trial to chant “to the execution wall” instead, moved by his testimony, rose up and applauded Matos. Instead of the firing squad the revolutionary tribunal sentenced him to 22 years in prison in December 1959.

Huber Matos would serve every day of those 22 years suffering beatings and other tortures.

Labor union organizer Mario Chanes de Armas jailed with Castro by Batista in 1953. For his nonviolent dissent Castro jailed him for 30 years

Mario Chanes de Armas, a regional leader of the Cuban Brewery Workers joined Castro’s efforts to overthrow Fulgencio Batista. Both were jailed by Batista for their anti-regime activities. Mario Chanes took part in the July 26, 1953 assault on the Moncada Barracks and was wounded. He was put on trial with the Castro brothers, and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was pardoned with them after 22 months.

Mario Chanes trained in Mexico and returned to Cuba on the Granma yacht with the Castro brothers, and Ernesto “Che” Guevara to defeat Batista.

Chanes could have had any position in the new regime, but opted to return to his brewery job. After two years of watching Castro betray their movement, Chanes spoke out against the communist influence in the revolutionary government. Chanes was tried as a counterrevolutionary and in 1961 imprisoned for 30 years.

Over the past sixty seven years the international community has too often normalized the systemic injustices perpetrated by the Castro dictatorship. Between 1959 and 1988 no international organizations were allowed to visit prisons in Cuba. This included the International Committee of the Red Cross. This was at a time that prisons were filled with prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Cuba.

Ricardo Bofill: human rights defender and prisoner of conscience

Independent human rights organizations in Cuba are not legally recognized by the Cuban government. The Cuban Committee for Human Rights was formally established on January 28, 1976 but did not become fully active until 1983 because State Security arrested everyone shortly after it was founded.

Seven years later, in October of 1983, in the Combinado del Este prison, several prisoners of conscience who had similar aspirations met. Paradoxically, what the regime did was to join together many of those who were already marching along similar paths, and the Cuban Committee for Human Rights eventually re-emerged where many political projects usually end. In truth, there were only seven: Ricardo Bofill, Gustavo Arcos Bergnes (then incommunicado on the ground floor and with whom the others could only speak when they took them out to the prison yard), Elizardo Sánchez Santa Cruz (who was already in the Boniato prison, but kept in contact with the others through family members), the former director of Pabellón Cuba, Teodoro del Valle, the poet René Díaz Almeyda, the diplomat Edmigio López Castillo and Ariel Hidalgo.

In 1987 the documentary “Nobody Listened” captured the human rights reality in Cuba with interviews with former political prisoners, archival footage of firing squads and other instances of repression. Former prisoners described show trials, extajudicial executions, and cruel and unusual punishment that rose to the level of torture. This in an environment were the international community was not listening.

Featured in the documentary was Jorge Valls Arango, poet, author, human rights defender, and lay Catholic.

Jorge Valls fought against tyranny and barbarism his whole life and in Cuba that meant challenging the dictatorships of Fulgencio Batista and Fidel Castro.

He suffered prison and exile during the Batista regime.

During the Castro regime he was arrested in 1964 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for testifying in defense of a friend who was being subjected to a show trial.

In the 1987 documentary Nobody Listened. Janet Maslin of The New York Times in 1988 reviewed this film and highlighted the formerly imprisoned poet.

Jorge Valls, a writer, on the other hand, points out that at least ‘’free thinking dwelt behind prison walls; it was truly the free territory of Cuba.’‘ As for public free expression at the time of the revolution, Mr. Valls says: ‘’None of that in 1959! Just extraordinary exaltation, fanatical idolatry of the victorious warrior, and rampant folly that made everything acceptable.’‘

Jorge in this documentary on the human rights situation in Cuba in the first three decades of the Castro dictatorship gives a powerful testimony in defense of freedom of expression and human dignity that remains relevant toda

Poet, former prisoner of conscience Jorge Valls

However things were about to change on the international front.

The Cuban Committee for Human Rights was able to document human rights abuses and smuggle these reports out of the prisons and out of Cuba reaching the international community. It was their work combined with the diplomatic pressure of the Reagan Administration that on March 8, 1988 the Cuban government was finally called to account for systematically denying access to Cuba’s prisons.

On March 11, 1988 Havana invited the United Nations Human Rights Commission to investigate human rights in Cuba. Over the course of the next year not only the UN Human Rights Commission, but also the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch were able to enter Cuba and document the human rights violations in the island.

This was the first and last time these organizations were allowed into Cuba to visit Castro’s prisons. The lack of outrage turned into a permanent acceptance of injustice in Cuba.

Thirty seven years have passed since the last time the International Committee of the Red Cross was able to visit Cuban prisons. Meanwhile the International Committee of the Red Cross has visited the U.S. Guantanamo detention facility over 100 times since 2001.

During the Cuban Black Spring in 2003 over a 100 activists were arrested and 75 of them were subjected to political show trials and condemned to prison terms ranging from 15 to 25 years in prison. A Czech film crew in Cuba filmed and interviewed activists before the crackdown and then interviewed their friends and family members after the show trials.

Out of this crackdown the wives, daughters, and sisters of these activists formed the Ladies in White and began organizing for their freedom. Regular marches, literary teas, and lobbying both the Cuban government and the international community. Some have been jailed, others beaten, and one of the founding leaders, Laura Inés Pollán Toledo, died under suspicious circumstances on October 14, 2011. There are still extrajudicial executions in Cuba by Castro's secret police. Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, and Harold Cepero were murdered in a state security engineered killings on July 22, 2012, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in their June 9, 2023 report on the merits.

Prisoners of conscience have died in Castro's prisons while protesting mistreatment at the hands of Cuban officials. This has gone on for decades. Some of the high profile cases stretch out over more than a half century: student leader Pedro Luis Boitel (1972), human rights defender Orlando Zapata Tamayo (2010), UNPACU member Wilman Villar Mendoza (2012) and political prisoner Yosvany Arostegui Armenteros are but a few that have been well documented.

Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. issued a prophetic warning in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" when he observed, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” The international community has paid a price for its acceptance of these continuing injustices. Venezuela is now suffering a human rights crisis, a product of a Cuban occupation and the imposition of these systemic injustices on a new and larger population.

From upper left to bottom right: Maykel Castillo Pérez (Maykel ‘Osorbo’), Sayli Navarro Álvarez, Loreto Hernández García, Roberto Pérez Fonseca, Félix Navarro, , Donaida Pérez Paseiro, and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (Amnesty International)

On January 19, 2026 Amnesty International’s regional director for the Americas urgently called for the immediate release of all Cuban prisoners of conscience, and an end to politically motivated detentions.

“The Cuban authorities have an obligation to guarantee the full and unconditional freedom of all prisoners of conscience. Sayli Navarro Álvarez, Félix Navarro, Loreto Hernández García, Donaida Pérez Paseiro, Roberto Pérez Fonseca, Maykel Castillo Pérez (Maykel ‘Osorbo’), and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara must not spend another day in prison. The authorities must also put an end, once and for all, to detentions for political reasons,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Americas.

On April 18, 2026, Sayli Navarro Álvarez will mark four years of serving an unjust sentence in the La Bellotex prison in Matanzas, Cuba. There, she is enduring harsh living conditions, unhygienic conditions, cramped quarters, poorly prepared food, an abundance of cockroaches and mosquitoes, and a bed bug infestation.

Sayli Navarro became a Lady in White, together with her mom, over 23 years ago campaigning for her dad’s release following his arrest in March 2003 during the Black Cuban Spring. Her dad, Felix Navarro, is currently a member of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) board of directors. Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience in 2003.

Both Sayli and Felix are longtime human rights defenders who have reported on systematic human rights violations in Cuba. They were detained after visiting a police station to learn more about the situation of the nonviolent demonstrators who had been imprisoned during the July 11, 2021 protests in Cuba.

Felix Navarro was arbitrarily jailed on July 12, 2021, never released, and taken to prison following a political show trial. Sayli was also detained on July 12th, but was released hours later, and had been staying with her mother, who is in poor health. She has also spoken out against her father’s arbitrary imprisonment.

On March 2, 2022 the Cuban dictatorship confirmed the prison sentences against two Cuban human rights defenders. Félix Navarro Rodríguez, ( then 68 years old), condemned to 9 years in prison. His daughter, Sayli Navarro (then 35), was condemned to eight years in prison.

Sayli was taken, with her hands and feet chained, to prison on April 18, 2022. Eleven months later, on March 18, 2023, a recording was released of her stating that state security is pressuring her to go into exile in order to be freed from prison, and that she rejected their offer.

“My husband Loreto is dying” – Donaida Perez

Black activists, and leaders of the Yoruba religion, Loreto Hernández García and Donaida Pérez Paseiro, who are prisoners of conscience detained only because of their political beliefs, and who should be immediately and unconditionally released. Loreto is not receiving adequate care in prison, and there is concern that this neglect may be fatal.

Amnesty International released an urgent action for the married couple on June 21, 2023 which contained the following text.

Cubans of all ages and walks of life have been charged, put on trial, or given harsh sentences for peacefully participating in protests in July 2021 in largely unfair and opaque proceedings mostly held behind closed doors. Among those imprisoned are spouses Donaida Pérez Paseiro, Black activist, priest, and President of the Free Yoruba Association of Cuba (“Yorubas Libres de Cuba”) and Loreto Hernández García, Black activist, priest, and Vice-President of the Free Yoruba Association of Cuba. The Yoruba religion is an African diaspora religion. They are imprisoned in Guamajal prison in Villa Clara province, central Cuba.

On 15 July 2021, police officers arrested Loreto Hernández García. His family maintains that authorities have placed him several times in solitary confinement, sometimes lasting 15 days, sometimes more. In February 2022, the Popular Municipal Court of Santa Clara (“Tribunal Municipal Popular de Santa Clara”) sentenced him to seven years in prison for “public disorder” and “contempt.” Donaida Pérez Paseiro was detained just a day after Loreto Hernández García. In February 2022, the Popular Municipal Court of Santa Clara sentenced her to eight years in prison for “public disorder”, “contempt”, and “assault” (“atentado”) against an official.

Based on the information available to Amnesty International, they should never have been charged with these offences. The organization notes that “contempt” and “public disorder” are charges frequently used in Cuba to limit the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The government also use other charges such as “assault” or “damages” (“daños”) when trying to unlawfully crack-down dissent. Furthermore, in connection with the charge of assault, the organization found that was no concrete and individualized allegations against Donaida.

There was a striking lack of evidence against her.

Both Black activists were tried along with 14 other protesters in an unfair trial. The judgement repeatedly refers to the protester’s political opposition to the government – something which should have no bearing in a criminal case – in a discriminatory and stigmatizing manner.

Likewise, the judgment makes it clear that the defendants’ alleged role as leaders of the anti-government protests has been considered an element of criminal responsibility.

The judges appear to have relied almost exclusively on witness statements from law enforcement officials, a common occurrence in Cuba. At the same time, the judgment dismisses all the statements by the defendants’ and by the witnesses proposed by the defence, vaguely arguing that they contradicted what the police declared.

Additionally, in Cuba, defence lawyers must belong to an official organization which, according to many sources, is closely controlled by the State. Therefore, they can only act somewhat independently when representing their clients.

Independent human rights monitors and independent media were prevented from monitoring any of the trials of the 11 July protesters. Cuban authorities have never responded to Amnesty International’s requests to monitor the trials.

According to Loreto’s family, Loreto suffers various health problems, including diabetes and hypertension, which are not being treated in prison. In May, Loreto was hospitalized without a precise diagnosis, according to reports from his family published in the media. According to his family, Loreto is in a delicate state of health due to complications from diabetes. Currently, he is in the prisoners’ wing of the Celestino Hernández Robau Provincial Hospital, known as Hospital Viejo, in Santa Clara, Cuba. The organization is concerned about allegations that he is not receiving adequate treatment.

Amnesty International considers Donaida Pérez Paseiro and Loreto Hernandez Garcia prisoners of conscience and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

Amnesty International’s Prisoner of Conscience determination is based on the information available to Amnesty International regarding the circumstances leading to the person’s detention. In naming a person as a Prisoner of Conscience, Amnesty International is affirming that this person must be immediately and unconditionally released but is not endorsing past or present views or conduct by them

 

Roberto Pérez Fonseca

 

“Roberto Pérez Fonseca, 43, was sentenced in October 2021 to 10 years’ imprisonment for his participation in the protests of 11 July 2021. Roberto was charged with the offences of contempt, assault, public disorder and incitement to commit a crime, all of which are typically used by the Cuban authorities against those who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Roberto’s detention to be arbitrary and motivated by the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of assembly and association, as well as to freedom of opinion and expression. It also found that Roberto’s right to a fair and impartial trial had been violated.” Source: Amnesty International, October 23, 2024

 

Health issues, and lack of care

Military confiscated syringes that his mother was able to obtain so that Roberto Pérez Fonseca could receive intravenous Omeprazole during his stomach ulcer crises. His health is in a precarious state due to the multiple punishments in solitary confinement, a recent episode occurred around mid July 2024, and his increasingly frequent asthma and stomach crises. Source: Albert Fonseca over X on August 22, 2024

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Pérez “Osorbo”.

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is a visual artist. He was last arrested, and detained on July 11, 2021 before he could join in the 11J protests mentioned above. In 2021, Time Magazine recognized Luis Manuel as one of the 100 most influential people.

Maykel Castillo Pérez “Osorbo” is a rap singer and he has been in pre-trial detention for over a year. He was taken by the political police on May 18, 2021. He is also a two-time Latin Grammy winner for the song he co-wrote and performed with other Cuban artists in 2021 called Patria y Vida.

They are both members of the  San Isidro Movement, an artists collective, that defended artistic freedom.

“Castillo’s last statement to the judge during the trial was, ‘Espero que la sentencia de usted, señora jueza, sea la de su conciencia,’ which translates to: ‘I hope your sentence, madame judge, is one dictated by your conscience.,” reported NBC News.

On May 17, 2022 Luis Manuel delivered a message from prison. “In an audio recording from his prison cell at Guanajay on May 17, Otero Alcántara said: ‘I dream that no Cuban will be the enemy of any other Cuban. Today for these dreams I am ready to sacrifice the artist’s flesh, my artist’s flesh, and my freedom-loving spirit,’” reported PEN International.

Luis Manuel was sentenced to five years and Maykel Castillo to nine years in prison on a range of charges related to their participation in a peaceful demonstration and an artistic performance, and their criticism of President Miguel Díaz-Canel”, reported Amnesty International.

Reuters reported at the time that “the U.S. Embassy in Havana on [June 1, 2022] criticized the trial of two Cuban artist-dissidents as neither ‘free nor fair’ on social media, fueling a growing standoff over human rights just weeks after Washington moved to ease sanctions on the island nation.”

However, one need not rely on U.S. diplomats on the reality that trials in Cuba are neither “free nor fair.” The president of the Supreme People’s Court (TSP), Rubén Remigio Ferro, dispelled them in a video revealed by DIARIO DE CUBA entitled “How Justice Is Decided in Cuba” that demonstrates that the judiciary is subordinate to the Cuban Communist Party, the Council of State, and works with the secret police, and prosecutors office to ensure that acquittals are kept at a minimum.

This was a political trial and a mockery of justice.

People of good will are not remaining passive before this injustice. Protests have been carried out in Miami, Madrid, New York and elsewhere to demonstrate solidarity with both Luis Manuel and Maykel.

They all remain in unjustly imprisoned today.

Please amplify their names, their plight, and join in the demand for their freedom. Let us also remind policy makers in the world's democracies and in the Cuban dictatorship that freeing all political prisoners is one of the three conditions for lifting U.S. sanctions on Havana.

 

Full article

 

 

Center for a Free Cuba 417 West Broad Street, Suite 204 Falls Church, VA 22046 www.cubacenter.org