CUBA IN CRISIS

January, 2023

As Cubans living on the island and in exile, members of the opposition and civic organizations, we call on President Joe Biden and leaders of democratic nations worldwide to reject appeasement policies towards the dictatorship. We also wish to raise awareness of the threat that the island's regime poses to the lives of millions of Cubans and the national security of the United States and the rest of the continent. Dialogue and collaboration with the Cuban government should only occur when Cuban citizens are able to freely determine their own fate.

The Cuban dictatorship has strengthened its strategic alliances with authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China, becoming a key transatlantic ally in supporting the invasion of Ukraine. Maintaining relations with the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba has done nothing to dissuade them from supporting these nefarious actors, who respond only to pressure. The regime continues to engage in human trafficking through its medical brigades and provide sanctuary to foreign terrorists responsible for the deaths of citizens in our region. The Cuban dictatorship must remain on the list of "State Sponsors of Terrorism" and the United States must enforce the sanctions resulting from this designation against the Communist Party of Cuba.

As we warned in April 2020, the regime has plunged the Cuban people into a severe humanitarian crisis, characterized by the State's absolute incompetence and negligence, political repression and violence. The Economist(1) estimated that, in 2021, Cuba had the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 per capita in the entire hemisphere (550 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) while the authorities refused to accept international vaccines. This, combined with the migratory crisis caused by the commands of Havana and Managua on the southern border of the United States, has resulted in a tragedy. Approximately 3% of the Cuban population, or at least 267,000 people, have fled hunger and oppression in Cuba during 2022(2). Many of these people have been victims of human trafficking, subjected to harassment and danger, and used by the Cuban dictatorship as a political weapon to extract concessions from the US government. Negotiating with criminals and giving in to this blackmail will only reinforce the policy of cyclical migration crises created by Havana.

Simultaneously, the large peaceful demonstrations in 2021 in support of freedom and a transition to democracy were followed by over 3,000 additional public protests within the island in 2022(3). The opposition, civic organizations and Cuban citizens globally have demonstrated that we are united in our efforts to reclaim FREEDOM, HOMELAND, AND LIFE. As Cubans, we are prepared to lead a democratic transition, which is the only viable solution to the dire crisis facing our people.

Instead of submitting to the sovereign will of the people, the dictatorship’s authorities have escalated state-sponsored terrorism. As outlined in the 2021 US Department of State human rights report (4), the violations committed “by the Cuban government include: credible reports of: extrajudicial killings,…; forced disappearances; torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of political dissidents, detainees and prisoners by security forces; inhumane prison conditions; arbitrary arrests and detentions; political prisoners;…; severe restrictions on internet freedom; heavy restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly and denial of freedom of association;…; restrictions on internal and external freedom of movement; inability of citizens to change their government through free and fair elections, including severe and unreasonable restrictions on political participation; rampant government corruption;…; human trafficking, including forced labor…” In November 2022, Cuba was added to the State Department’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern”(5) due to the severe restrictions and violations of religious freedom. Currently, more an one thousand Cuban men and women remain in political prison, including several minors.

We are deeply troubled that none of the aforementioned issues have been publicly addressed in the talks between the United States administration and the Cuban dictatorship. This type of dialogue, without clear conditions and which equates the US rule of law with the criminal legality of the Castro regime, can only undermine the national security of the United States and leave Cubans on the island and in exile in a vulnerable position. For example, the conversations that took place on January 18 and 19, 2023, have already been used by the Cuban Ministry of the Interior - an entity sanctioned by the Treasury Department under the Global Magnitsky Act - to threaten Cubans living in the US. As a result, we demand that the United States administration reject any information provided by this criminal organization.

We respectfully request that the United States refrain from making concessions to the regime until the unconditional release of all political prisoners is verified and carried out; an end to repression is achieved; fundamental human rights including freedom of expression, association, economic freedom and free mobility are respected; and definitive and irreversible steps are taken towards holding free, fair and multi-party elections. Any relationship with the authorities of the regime must prioritize these conditions, or it will be used to the detriment of our people.

We respectfully urge the government of the United States and all democratic nations throughout the world to take all necessary diplomatic, economic, and legal measures to address the threat posed by the Cuban regime, curb the impunity enjoyed by criminals in power within Cuba, and provide support to the Cuban people in our just and lawful pursuit of freedom and democracy.

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(1) https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/08/03/covid-19-has-damaged-the-reputation-of-cuban-health-care?s=09

(2) https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters

(3) https://observatoriocubano.com/2023/01/02/cubanos-ya-no-juegan-solo-con-la-cadena-tambien-con-elmono-692-protestas-en-diciembre-3-923-en-2022/

(4) https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/cuba/

(5) https://www.state.gov/countries-of-particular-concern-special-watch-list-countries-entities-of-particular-concern/

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It is time to stand together against coronavirus infection, repression and poverty.

April, 2020

Today, while we believe that we are still on time, we have the responsibility to alert and try to protect our people in the face of a crisis that can potentially turn into a national tragedy of unmanageable proportions.

Before the international community, we denounce the intensification of the repression by the authorities of the dictatorship and the subsequent increase in the risk of COVID-19 contagion for the citizens that this practice entails. We are alerting people to the danger to the life and security of our people due to the shortages and the absence of sanitary conditions in public places, including hospitals and detention centers, due to inaction, corruption and negligence of those who hold power in Cuba.

In recent days, as the number of people infected with and have suffered death from the novel coronavirus increases in Cuba, the Castro-communist regime increases repressive actions against peaceful opponents, political prisoners, human rights defenders, independent journalists and anyone who exposes the alarming reality that is occurring in the midst of the shortage and the crisis surrounding COVID-19.

Repression increases every hour. Many activists and non-affiliated citizens have been detained, threatened, stripped of their cell phones and even physically assaulted and taken to prison by the authorities for taking a photo or posting on social media. The dictatorship uses article 68 of Decree-Law 370, which considers it an offense to spread, through public networks, information contrary to "social interest, morality, good customs and integrity of people.”

Throughout the country, the already chronic shortage of food and basic necessities is aggravated, while the dictatorship persecutes and imposes prohibitions on self-employed workers. Cubans must stand in long lines that eventually become massive crowds in order to acquire what little the state markets offer, making it practically impossible to carry out elementary measures to avoid contagion. Public transport is paralyzed, most have to travel miles on foot looking for essential items to survive. As the days pass, the situation grows seemingly worse.

As life becomes increasingly difficult, the regime controls all the mass media, publishing lies and propaganda to generate a false and dangerous sense of security among Cubans, while manipulating and exaggerating the news about the problems faced by other nations whose governments criticize Castroism.

What is especially distressing are the conditions in which political prisoners find themselves and the actions against them at a time when their lives are in the greatest danger. Today they are suffering from confinement in solitary confinement punishment cells, they are being transferred to prisons distant from their relatives, there exists arbitrary confiscation of food and toiletries, and suspension of phone calls, all while the regime hinders aid from exile. To all this, we must add overcrowding, poor hygiene and food and the deficiencies of medical care.

Considering the above, we demand the immediate release of the more than eight-thousand innocents who, without having committed a crime, are convicted of “Pre-criminal Dangerousness” and the release of all political prisoners. Given the aggravation of the COVID-19 pandemic and the absence of sanitary conditions in prisons, urgent release is what is "just and necessary", as requested by the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro.

Cuba needs help and we want to take initiative and request it today from the international community. It is urgent that independent civil society and all Cubans of good will, immediately take the necessary steps to create mechanisms and implement measures to combat the coronavirus, curb the growing repression of the dictatorship and alleviate the difficulties and widespread misery. We call for the unity of the Cuban democratic movement, on the island and the diaspora, and we ask for the support of international solidarity, to overcome the crisis that Cuba is going through.

We invite all citizens and organizations on the island and exile to join this call to action.

Firmas: 3655