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Fact Checking Miguel Diaz-Canel’s claims on Meet the Press: Mr. president your claims on political prisoners are false.

There are over 1200+ identified political prisoners in Cuba today.

 

This is the second in a series of CubaBriefs fact checking the claims made by Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel during his appearance on Meet the Press broadcast on April 12, 2026.

Fact Checking Miguel Diaz-Canel’s Meet the Press appearance 

“Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it.” – Jonathan Swift The Art of Political Lying (1710).

Fact-check: There are political prisoners in Cuba. Díaz-Canel denied their existence, but international human groups claim over 1,200.

The interview was recorded in Havana on April 9, 2026, and aired in full on April 12, 2026 (a roughly 53-minute episode). When Kristen Welker pressed him on U.S. demands that included releasing political prisoners (citing the over 1,200 documented cases and the high-profile imprisonment of rapper Maykel Osorbo since 2021 for the protest song “Patria y Vida”), Díaz-Canel denied their existence outright.

Below is the exchange.at 45:39:

KRISTEN WELKER: They’re giving me the hard wrap. So let me, let me get these questions out. There are still more than 1,200 political prisoners, including one of the most high profile political prisoners, Cuban rapper Maykel Osorbo, who’s been in prison since 2021 for writing a protest song that won two Latin Grammys. Will you commit to releasing him and the other political prisoners?

PRES. MIGUEL DÍAZ-CANEL [TRANSLATED]: That’s another issue in which you can see all of these bias and all these prejudices. They speak about political prisoners in Cuba. Like you said, where the people is going through a very difficult situation. There are people in Cuba who are not in favor of the revolution. There are people who do not support the revolution and they manifest themselves on a daily basis against a revolution and they’re not in prison. This narrative that has been created, that image that anyone who speaks against a revolution is thrown into jail, that’s a big lie, that’s a slander, and that’s part of that construct, in order to vilify and to engage a character assassination of the Cuban Revolution.

Independent, non-governmental human rights organizations with long track records of documenting cases in Cuba have consistently verified the existence of hundreds to over 1,200 political prisoners (often called “prisoners of conscience” when detained solely for nonviolent expression or dissent). These figures come from on-the-ground verification, family reports, court records, and prison monitoring—not U.S. government sources or exile groups alone.

Prisoners Defenders (Madrid-based NGO that has tracked Cuban political prisoners since 2019): As of March 2026, it documented 1,250 political prisoners (up from 1,214 in February 2026). This includes people arrested for nonviolent protests (e.g., 11J protests of 2021), social-media posts, artistic expression, or human-rights advocacy. Many are held on vague charges like “public disorder” or “disrespect to authorities.” The group also notes ongoing new arrests and that recent mass prisoner releases (e.g., over 2,000 in April 2026) excluded political cases.

Human Rights Watch (April 2026 reporting): Over 700 political prisoners remained imprisoned even after partial releases; hundreds more face house arrest or restrictions. Recent “humanitarian” amnesties (April 2026 and earlier) deliberately excluded critics of the government. HRW has documented arbitrary detention, abuse in prisons, and lack of due process for dissenters.

Amnesty International: Designates specific high-profile cases as prisoners of conscience (e.g., Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Maykel Osorbo / Maykel Castillo Pérez, Félix Navarro Rodríguez, Sayli Navarro Álvarez, and others). It describes a pattern of repression where people are jailed solely for exercising rights to freedom of expression, assembly, or peaceful protest, with no violence involved. Amnesty has repeatedly called for their unconditional release and noted that recent releases were selective, opaque, and excluded these cases.

Sayli Navarro Álvarez, Félix Navarro, Loreto Hernández García, Donaida Pérez Paseiro, Roberto Pérez Fonseca, Maykel Castillo Pérez (Maykel ‘Osorbo’), and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara

The Cuban dictatorship has long maintained that it holds no political prisoners—only people who committed common crimes—and Havana rejects international monitoring.

However, the consistent, cross-verified documentation from these organizations (which use rigorous criteria like proof of non-violent political motive) directly contradicts that claim. The numbers fluctuate with arrests and occasional selective releases, but the pattern of detaining critics has been documented for decades, including after the 2021 protests and more recent acts of dissent.

In short, the evidence from credible human rights monitors shows Díaz-Canel’s denial was incorrect.

Political prisoners exist in Cuba, and their cases are tied to political expression, and the exercise of fundamental human rights, rather than criminality.

There is a petition underway calling for the release of all Cuban political prisoners, and for this to be a priority. https://www.change.org/FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners

 

 

 

 

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CUBA: WHERE ARE WE HEADED? 

The Castro Dictatorship: Crushing Cubans at Home While Endangering National Security Across the Hemisphere

By Nestor T. Carbonell

Nestor Carbonell, author of Why Cuba Matters

Cuba is on the verge of collapse. Blackouts, misery and suffering now are part of daily life. Yet recent developments offer hope for a breakthrough that could liberate the long-struggling island.

Trump spurred the process in December 2025 by invoking the Monroe Doctrine, essentially reasserting U.S. preeminence in the Western Hemisphere. Then, in January he declared a national emergency to impose, with punitive tariffs, an oil blockade against Cuba for its “alignment with hostile countries and malign actors” and for “hosting military and intelligence capabilities on the island.”

He also enlisted his highly qualified and respected Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to develop and implement a comprehensive Cuba Liberation Plan.  

President Trump’s recent comments offer some insight on how he views the situation. Cuba, he said, is a failed state, about to fall.  He said negotiations are going on with high-level Cuban officials — mainly relatives or proxies of Raul Castro.  He added that those parties are eager to strike a deal giving the U.S. ample powers to take the lead.  Time will tell how eager those parties actually are. But in what appear to be preliminary concessions, the regime announced the release of 2,010 prisoners (though it is not clear whether they include any of the regime’s 1,200 political prisoners) and approved economic reforms allowing Cuban exiles to invest and own businesses on the island.

While Cuba, under Castro-Communist rule, has failed in almost everything, it has prevailed for more than 67 years in suppressing internal opposition and deceiving or misleading many U.S. Presidents.  And it is worth pointing out that on the other side of the present negotiations, at least indirectly, is one of the Castro brothers responsible for Cuba’s decades of  tyranny, terrorism and crimes against humanity. While that may be necessary under current circumstances, the U.S. can only succeed if we negotiate from a position of strength and do not allow the despot, his family and their henchmen to remain in power.

Prominent Cuban exiles, many of whom left the island penniless and later grew wealthy in the U.S., are willing to invest in Cuba and contribute to its rebuilding. But having learned from experience, they will only risk their hard-earned capital if freedom reigns again under the rule of law. Secretary Rubio seems to share that view.  “You cannot fix the economy,” he said, “if you don’t change the system of government.”

History shows that the Castro brothers have routinely used the ploy of economic reforms to dupe the U.S and prolong their tyranny, while enriching themselves, their families and cohorts. After the Soviet Union imploded and Cuba lost its vital lifeline in 1991, Fidel Castro dollarized the economy and introduced market-oriented reforms. State farms were allowed to form cooperatives, self-managed businesses were licensed, and major international corporations were invited to invest in Cuba. The perceived economic opening, however, was short-lived. Not one to allow capitalism to undermine his regime, Fidel Castro soon reintroduced rigid state controls. 

Then, in 2015, President Obama decided to seek an opening in Cuba by offering incentives and financial relief to the Castro regime under Raul, who was deemed more pragmatic than Fidel. Obama restored diplomatic relations, removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, exchanged political prisoners, and eased restrictions on U.S. investments and joint ventures in Cuba. The expectation was that these concessions would induce an expansion of the private sector and, eventually, liberalize the regime. This delusion was soon crushed by Raul Castro.  Standing before the Seventh Communist Congress, he said: “We are not naïve,” adding that “powerful external forces” hoped to “create agents of change to end the revolution.”  

Clearly, anyone negotiating for the freedom of Cubans today should not mistake easily-reversible “reforms” as good-faith efforts to open the island’s economy and ease the plight of the Cuban people.

And while the humanitarian crisis in Cuba is a most grievous tragedy, it is not the only urgent reason to end the totalitarian regime.  There is a compelling need to counter the very real threat the regime poses to the security of the U.S. and the Americas, in collusion with China, Russia, Iran and narco-terrorist organizations. They are not just a competitive partnership, but a most dangerous axis of malign forces 90 miles from our shores. 

As reported in December 2024 by The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), China is currently operating four electronic espionage spy bases in Cuba capable of collecting signals intelligence (SIGINT) on the southeastern seaboard of the U.S., an area brimming with military bases, combat command headquarters, space launch centers, and military testing sites. They also can monitor naval movements in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. The largest of these bases, in Bejucal, near Havana, has technology to intercept and potentially interfere with U.S. satellite communications, military transmissions and space launch data.  

In addition, China’s People’s Armed Police (PAP), which helped to quash the 2019 Hong Kong protests, trained Cuba’s Special National Brigade, or “Black Berets,” to suppress the July 11, 2021 civic uprising across the island. The Berets are now trying to quell the growing protests in Cuba, which the U.S. should support by providing intelligence, resources and access to Starlink.

Cuba also ranks among Vladimir Putin’s geostrategic priorities, along with Nicaragua and Venezuela. According to reliable intelligence reports, Russian Aerospace Defense Forces operate in these countries’ dual-use ground-based GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System) stations, which are being used for intelligence gathering, surveillance and tracking U.S. activities. Cuba’s facility is reportedly based at the Institute of Applied Astronomy in Havana. 

Meanwhile the Cuban regime continues to share with China and Russia classified U.S. intelligence and military information — an effort that peaked years back drawing on two of the spies most damaging to U.S. interests:  Ana Belen Montes and Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha. Cuba also supports Russia’s war in Ukraine, enabling the recruitment of some 15,000 Cubans to fight there for Moscow.

Together these factors call for a well-integrated Cuba liberation strategy with congressional backing, Inter-American support and Cuban democratic involvement. A bold America First leadership is essential, but it must not be America alone. Collective actions — diplomatic, economic and military — under the Rio Treaty may be needed to achieve our goal in Cuba. 

The next steps the U.S. takes will be critical.  Following are some thoughts about the three key phases of the strategy and the respective legal planks.

PHASE I – Commit to Cuba’s freedom while safeguarding the security of the U.S and the Americas. Since the ongoing negotiations may not provide the expected opening in Cuba and the withdrawal of foreign adversaries from the island, the Trump administration should consider invoking the Congressional Joint Resolution (Law 87-733), signed by President Kennedy on October 3, 1962 just before the Missile Crisis.  It reads, in part:

The United States is determined a) to prevent by whatever means may be necessary… the Marxism-Leninism regime in Cuba from extending its aggressive or subversive activities to any part of this Hemisphere; b) to prevent in Cuba the creation or use of any externally supported military capability endangering the security of the United States; and c) to work with the OAS and with freedom-loving Cubans to support the aspirations of the Cuban people for self-determination.

PHASE II – Suspend, and subsequently lift, the U.S. embargo, only when the prescribed conditions are met.  According to the LIBERTAD Act of 1996 (Helms- Burton Act), the U.S. cannot lift or suspend the U.S. embargo unless the Cuban government meets certain conditions, including the release of all political prisoners, respect for human rights, legalization of political activity, dissolution of the repressive state security apparatus, settlement of U.S. claims over confiscated properties, commitment to free elections, etc.

PHASE III – Establish the Cuban institutions required for peace, freedom and prosperity. The transition to a free and democratic Cuba must start with a provisional government of national unity, excluding the Castro family and government officials with criminal records, which will abide by a new Constitution that offers all the necessary guarantees. The Cubans won’t have to improvise, since they can, and should, reinstate the applicable parts of their legitimate 1940 Constitution, which was the leitmotif of the struggle against Batista and Castro. Under that Constitution, the provisional government would dismantle the totalitarian apparatus, initiate the privatization and resurgence of the economy with foreign capital and technology, pursue the moral regeneration of the country, and lay the foundations for a new beginning with free elections and the rule of law.   

If we forge ahead judiciously with unwavering determination and faith in our cause, we will be able to liberate Cuba and restore peace and security in this Hemisphere.

Let’s not miss this great opportunity.

 

 

 

Take action: Sign petition to prioritize release of Cuban political prisoners.

Can Democracy Be Done Better?

 

Can Democracy Be Done Better? (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

Most of us are glad to live in a democracy. Yet, we may also think that our democracy is not representing us, or not functioning well. So, can democracy be done better? The “Iron Law of Oligarchy,” is a political theory developed by German sociologist Robert Michels, to explain how complex organizations, regardless of how democratic when started, inevitably develop into oligarchies. Representative democracies deteriorate into elite rule as a result of this “iron law.” According to Michels, the tactical and technical necessities of organizations require that they come to be run by a leadership class. This leadership class ends up dominating the organization’s power structures. Representative democracies can not avoid rule by elite. We have also come to believe that electing representatives by popular vote is a sacrosanct element of democratic governance. Yet, there are several thought provoking arguments that reimagine democracy by replacing the traditional voting process. An intriguing proposal for a democracy of the future is governance by “sortition.” Sortition-also known as demarchy or allotment- is a democratic form of government where representative members of the government are selected randomly rather than by election. This concept of selecting public officials at random from a larger pool of candidates has a distinguished pedigree beginning in the Athenian democracy (507-232 BCE), Venice (697-1797), Florence (1328-1434 and 1494-1512) and Switzerland (1640-1837). Modern examples are mostly found in the selection of juries where potential jurors are selected at random from a qualified population and then are further examined to determine their qualifications and impartiality in a voir dire process. Also, random selection has been used to create assemblies of citizens to advice on policy proposals. Sortition is more democratic than elections because a sample selected at random mirrors more accurately the composition of the population with respect to personal characteristics, political preferences and economic circumstances. Consequently, the lawmaking of a random selected parliament is more likely to reflect the views of the population as a whole. Sortition is a less corruptible selection process for political office because it is not easily manipulated by money, power, or status. The Athenians believed elections to be aristocratic and corrupt. As Aristotle put it: “It is accepted as democratic when public officials are allocated by lot [sortition]; and as oligarchic when they are filled by election.” Modern advocates of sortition also point out the phenomenon of cognitive diversity. Studies show that cognitive diversity is more important to developing successful ideas than the ability level of a group. Simply put, persons of average intelligence selected at random perform better than a collection of the most talented problem solvers. Most elected legislative assemblies display various demographic biases in race, religion, sex, etc. Under a citizen-wide sortition scheme for public office, ordinary citizens would not have to compete against powerful adversaries favored by socioeconomic or political advantages. Thus, sortition is inherently more egalitarian than elections, and provides all citizens an equal chance of serving in office. It overcomes societal biases, and the problem of overrepresentation in elections by the more politically active groups. Under most election systems, elected representatives rely on political parties to gain office, and are likely to cast their votes along party lines. Their loyalty is split between the party and their personal views. Representatives selected by sortition are not indebted to anyone for their position. Their loyalty is strictly to their conscience. Before a random selection can be made, the pool of candidates must be defined. Many methods have been advanced to select from the population at large, or from subsets screened by education, experience, testing, etc. Modern computer technologies enable such qualification systems making sortition technically viable. Had these computer systems existed when the Founding Fathers designed our democracy, I suspect Thomas Jefferson would have argued for sortition. Democracy progressed when we abandoned the notion that kings had been anointed by God. Similarly, sortition is a modernization of democracy that makes us uncomfortable because it requires that we rethink the concept of voting. But consider that we use sortition to select juries empowered to make life and death decisions. And that sortition embodies an extremely attractive characteristic: It gets rid of politicians. What do you think? 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

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CubaBrief: Cuba’s Freedom as Catalyst for Latin America’s Democratic Renaissance

 

Entrenched Authoritarianism: Cuba as Archetype and Exporter

Cuba stands as Latin America’s longest-running dictatorship—over 67 years under the same system—with no free national elections since 1950. The regime has perfected a kleptocratic model:  a system ruled by people who use their power to steal their country’s resources. Furthermore communist central planning has collapsed the economy (importing 80% of food while elites control billions in cash reserves), criminalized dissent through an expanded penal code, and turned humanitarian aid into a tool of control via government-linked entities.

Over 1,200 political prisoners remain jailed, including for nonviolent protest or online dissent; the 2021 island-wide protests were met with lethal force by the Cuban government. This repression continues unabated. There is a petition underway requesting prioritizing their release.

On April 8, 2026, prisoner of conscience Félix Navarro, age 72, was beaten and placed in isolation after his scheduled family visit, according to his wife, Sonia Álvarez. Immediately after leaving the visiting area, prison officer Norlen Pedroso Sotolongo verbally abused him and ordered an intrusive search of all his belongings. As Navarro was taken toward the infirmary, he was beaten, handcuffed, and transferred to a punishment cell on the officer’s orders. He sustained contusions and remains in isolation. Already in poor health, Navarro’s life and physical integrity are now at serious risk.

Placing Cuba into a hemispheric context

When Augusto Pinochet was forced out of office in Chile on March 11, 1990, the last remaining dictatorship in the Americas was the Castro regime in Cuba. Political turmoil in Haiti led some to place it alongside Cuba as a failed state between 1990 and 1995, but between 1995–2000 it was the only dictatorship that remained in the Americas. Efforts to engage with, and normalize the dictatorship by other Latin American nations did not improve Havana’s conduct, but saw others destabilized by the Cuban dictatorship.

 

Havana actively exports its model.

The cases of Venezuela and Nicaragua are cautionary examples. Cuban military and intelligence personnel have propped up Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela (with 32 documented casualties in regime protection operations as recently as January 2026) and supported Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua.

The regime maintains alliances with Russia (supplying mercenaries for Ukraine), China (intelligence facilities), Iran, and transnational networks, creating a permissive environment for terrorism and instability that spills across the Western Hemisphere—fueling migration crises, drug flows, and threats to U.S. and regional security.
Havana’s “authoritarian nexus” undermines fragile democracies elsewhere while shielding its own repression.

 

Fragile Democratic Transitions and the Human Cost

Democracy in the region is under strain precisely because these regimes have dismantled checks and balances, monopolized power, and restricted freedoms.

Cuban opposition networks show the other side: courageous citizens and reformers actively contest this. Non-violent initiatives like the Varela Project, independent journalists, and informal opposition coordination demonstrate that even in the most entrenched cases, the human spirit for freedom persists.

The challenge is the asymmetry—regimes use violence, infiltration, and external patrons, while democrats rely on moral authority, international solidarity, and internal unity. Widespread poverty, food scarcity, and blackouts are regime-made, not sanctions-driven, as centralized control and corruption have devastated Cuban production since 1959. Independent aid channels (e.g., via Caritas) succeed where regime-controlled ones fail, underscoring the need to bypass GONGOs.

Pathways for Renewal: Non-Violent Transition with Conditioned Support

Genuine democratic renewal requires political change first—not the reverse “China model” of economic opening without liberty. Economic liberalization follows accountable institutions; premature engagement only entrenches the kleptocracy.
Practical pathways include:

• Internal non-violent mobilization: Unite Cuba’s opposition (internal and in exile) through coordinated advocacy, non-violent resistance training, documentation of abuses for future justice commissions, and preparation for a “Liberation Phase” leading to free and fair elections. The recent “Liberation Accord” among groups signals momentum toward this.
• International leverage with clear benchmarks: Targeted sanctions must remain and expand (Magnitsky-style on repressors), conditioned on verifiable steps—unconditional release of all political prisoners (including immediate medical attention and release for cases like Félix Navarro), International Red Cross prison access, legalization of political parties and independent unions, withdrawal of Cuban military/intelligence from Venezuela and Nicaragua, closure of foreign intelligence facilities, surrender of fugitives/terrorists, and a timeline for competitive elections.
• Humanitarian and diplomatic realism: Establish independent aid corridors with UN spot-checks; amplify dissident voices globally; reject dialogue that legitimizes the regime without addressing the Cuban people’s sovereignty. Conversations between governments may serve national-security interests, but true transition demands dialogue between the dictatorship and the Cuban people.
• Regional and hemispheric solidarity: Link Cuba’s case to Venezuela and Nicaragua—demanding the authoritarian nexus be dismantled—as part of broader support for democratic renewal. Democrats must continue to use their shared experiences of repression to forge cross-border strategies.

While authoritarianism appears entrenched, it is brittle—exposed by economic failure, popular rejection, and courageous contestation. Renewal lies in empowering citizens through non-violence, insisting on political preconditions for any engagement, and sustaining principled international pressure.

Democracy is being reimagined not by top-down deals, but by the bottom-up determination of those risking everything for freedom.

The path to lasting freedom and democratic renewal across Latin America passes through a free Cuba, which will serve as the catalyst for a genuine democratic renaissance and consolidation throughout the region.

 

Interested in learning more? Then register here and join the NED Panel on Freedom and Democratic Renewal in Latin America on Monday, April 13, at 4:00 p.m. EST in person or virtually.

 

 

 

 

 

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