Center for a Free Cuba

Imagine... What would Cuba and the World be like today if Fidel Castro had never been born?

Today, supporters of totalitarianism celebrate Fidel Castro’s birth, and the cult of personality that the dictatorship claims does not exist is on display in Revolutionary Square this year. Some commemorating Fidel Castro’s birthday, such as the Cuba Solidarity Campaign in the United Kingdom, assert that “For more than 65 years the Cuban Revolution has been an inspiration to people around the world for its achievements in health, education, internationalism and more. Hasta Siempre, Comandante.”

Read the FULL Brief! https://cubacenter.org/cuba-brief/2024/08/13/cubabrief-imagine-what-would-cuba-and-the-world-would-be-like-today-if-fidel-castro-had-never-been-born/

Join the movement for Cuba's freedom. Visit our website to learn more and be a part of the cause! centerforafreecuba.org

CubaBrief: Celia Cruz and Gustavo Arcos, two Cuban icons who refused to bend the knee to the Cuban dictatorship are remembered today.

The Embassy of the United States in Cuba honors and celebrates Celia Cruz being featured on the U.S. quarter on their X account.

On July 16, 2003, Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso died at the age of 77 from a protracted illness. Millions of fans throughout the world mourned her demise. Large Cuban expatriate communities in Miami, Florida and Hoboken, New Jersey were especially devastated. She was best known as Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa.

Fidel Castro attempted to force the salsa singer to pay him homage in the first months of the Revolution, but she refused. Salserísimo Perú, a Youtube site founded by three Peruvian journalists to disseminate knowledge on salsa and tropical music, provides a more comprehensive and accurate history than the Smithsonian Institution. The following is an account of Celia Cruz’s first “encounter” with Fidel Castro.

Read the full Brief: https://cubacenter.org/cuba-brief/2024/08/08/cubabrief-celia-cruz-and-gustavo-arcos-two-cuban-icons-who-refused-to-bend-the-knee-to-the-cuban-dictatorship-are-remembered-today/

Berta Soler, the courageous leader of the Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco), has been at the forefront of non-violent protests demanding human rights and political freedoms in Cuba. Her steadfast leadership and commitment continue to inspire hope for a democratic future on the island.

"Support the Cause for Cuban Freedom. Join us in standing for the Cuban people's quest for freedom. Your support can empower real change. Explore our website to learn more and take action today." centerforafreecuba.org

Maleconazo at 30: Cubans marched in Havana chanting for freedom, and an end to dictatorship. Regime agents responded with deadly violence.

Karel Poort, a Dutch freelance photographer and tourist visiting Cuba, took photos during the 1994 protests, which were made public in 2013 and matched the anecdotal accounts of the day. In an exclusive interview with EFE published on August 4, 2024 he outlined what he experienced that day, including witnessing government agents dressed as civilians firing wildly at demonstrators.

When the Dutchman arrived at the hotel opposite the Malecón, a Cuban approached him and said: “Keep taking photos and show the disaster that exists here in your country.” “While this was happening, a group of plainclothes police arrived at the Deauville and started shooting wildly,” he recalls.

Among the thirty photos that Poort gave to EFE, several can be seen of a man, wearing dark glasses, a white shirt and khaki trousers, with a short firearm in his hand. In one of them he is in front of the hotel, pointing upwards; in another he is pointing directly towards Poort and in others he is seen running towards where the protesters were.

Half an hour after those events, a patrol car stopped behind the photographer: “Three policemen ordered me to hand over the film and the camera. They grabbed me and, miraculously, I managed to get away and ran as fast as I could towards my hotel (…) I was able to take more photos from the window of my room,” he adds.

https://youtu.be/nFKhIugblJY?si=ddaKYSco3LuPj_M0

Center for a Free Cuba
http://www.cubacenter.org/

Daughter of Maykel Osorbo, Cuban activist, rapper, and political prisoner, Leaves Cuba with Her Mother: "Heading to Lands of Freedom"
https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/283369

UN Experts Demand Release of Cuba's July 11 Protest Detainees

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called for the immediate release of 17 individuals detained following the July 11, 2021, protests in Cuba. Labeling their detention as "arbitrary" and a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the group highlighted severe judicial irregularities, including the absence of arrest warrants and a lack of judicial oversight.

The detainees, involved in widespread anti-government demonstrations, were initially sentenced to 15-26 years for sedition, a term criticized by the UN as "vague." These sentences were later reduced to 8-18 years upon appeal. The group also raised concerns about one detainee, Walnier Luis Aguilar, who was tried without accommodations for his disability.

Despite the non-binding nature of their recommendations, the UN experts' call carries significant moral weight. They have demanded not only the release but also compensation for the detainees, underscoring the international concern over Cuba's handling of political dissenters. Over 700 individuals have been sentenced related to these protests, often in trials lacking fundamental fairness.

The Cuban government, not adhering to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, faces global scrutiny for its actions against protesters.

Source: https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/284666

Help set the record straight:
•Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism.
•Havana Kills Human Rights Activists.
Visit our website for reliable facts: https://cubacenter.org/

Terrorism: The Cuban Connection - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8csvt5mOv28

RCubaBrief: María Corina Machado before Congress, “We have the largest torture center in Latin America. Cuban agents have been involved in torture cases in our country.”

Elections are underway today, July 28, 2023, in Venezuela, filled with irregularities and threats of violence by those in power, and the Cuban dictatorship’s official Youtube channel, CubaDebate, has posted three videos today featuring Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. The role of the Cuban dictatorship in the disaster that is Venezuela today cannot be overstated.
The Biden administration eased sanctions against Venezuela on the condition that free and fair elections be held. Maria Corina Machado was barred from running in any elections after winning the opposition primary with more than 90% of the vote, citing alleged “anti-national” activities. She is backing Edmundo González, the opposition candidate permitted by the Maduro regime.
On February 7, 2024 María Corina Machado addressed the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in which she stated: “We have the largest torture center in Latin America. Cuban agents have been involved in torture cases in our country.”

You can see her full statement, and the questions and answers that followed here:
https://youtu.be/VgiLBx_IIHM

Read the full Brief: https://cubacenter.org/cuba-brief/2024/07/28/cubabrief-maria-corina-machado-before-congress-we-have-the-largest-torture-center-in-latin-america-cuban-agents-have-been-involved-in-torture-cases-in-our-country/

CubaBrief: Raul Castro celebrates Cubans killing Cubans on this day in 1953. Castroism’s terrorist legacy, past and present.

Earlier today, Raúl Castro presided over the celebration of the 71st anniversary of the attack on the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba, a violent act that culminated in the formation of the 26th of July Movement and the eventual establishment of the dictatorship headed by the Castro brothers for 65 years.

Act of violence that sparked a wave of terrorism across Cuba
The July 26th Movement in addition to the guerilla warfare in the Sierra Maestra and countryside, would also unleash a wave of urban terrorism across Cuba. The official publication “Lucharemos hasta el final cronología 1957” includes a detailed account of the attacks. Below are two excerpts.
On July 25, 1957, “during a 20-minute blackout caused by sabotage against Cienfuegos’ electrical system, two small explosives were detonated: one at the Pardo Theater and the other at the Tomás Terry.” They took advantage of the darkness to plant July 26 flags throughout the city.
The 26th of July Movement in Pinar del Río marked the fourth anniversary of the attacks on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks by increasing sabotage around the province. Several to***co curing houses burn in San Luis and Ovas, Western Railways’ telephone and telegraph links are destroyed, the Central Highway is covered in spikes, making vehicle travel impossible, and a bomb explodes in Viñales’ sports stadium.

Raúl Castro plotted numerous aircraft hijackings. On November 1, 1958, one such skyjacking killed 17 civilians when the plane crashed.

Read the full Brief: https://cubacenter.org/cuba-brief-archives/2024/07/26/cubabrief-raul-castro-celebrates-cubans-killing-cubans-on-this-day-in-1953-castroisms-terrorist-legacy-past-and-present/

In Cuba, political prisoners face purposeful systematic attacks on their health through isolation and neglect, contrasting with ordinary prisoners who suffer from neglect due to indifference. Juan Carlos González Leyva sheds light on the harsh realities. 🇨🇺

https://diariodecuba.com/derechos-humanos/1719331284_55644.html

CubaBrief: Seven things to read and watch on the 71st anniversary of the Moncada Attack to get the facts of what actually happened, and avoid propaganda

Seven things to read and watch on the 71st anniversary of the military assault that sparked six years of domestic terrorism in Cuba and 65 years and counting of dictatorship.
A group of Cubans led by Fidel Castro assaulted the barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Approximately, 18 government officials were killed and 28 wounded in the attack. 27 rebels were killed and 11 wounded. 51 of the surviving 99 rebels were placed on trial.

Fidel Castro turned himself in after seeking guarantees for his safety and was also put on trial. At his trial Castro praised the old republic, and the democracy that had existed prior to March 10, 1952. The future Cuban despot expressed outrage at the Batista regime’s repression against his fellow assailants. “The unprecedented moral degradation our nation is suffering is expressed beyond the power of words in that mother’s sobs of grief before the cowardly insolence of the very man who murdered her son.”

The official version put out by the Cuban government about the July 26, 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks is not what happened. No mention is made about how Fidel Castro lied about his true intentions. On December 2, 1961 he explained his reasoning,“If we had paused to tell the people that we were Marxist-Leninists while we were on Pico Turquino and not yet strong, it is possible that we would never have been able to descend to the plains.” Not to mention that Washington would not have backed him.

On March 26, 1964, before the trial of the alleged informant of the Humbolt Seven Martyrs, Fidel Castro explained that truth had to be useful: ”I conceive the truth based....

Read the full Brief: https://cubacenter.org/cuba-brief/2024/07/25/cubabrief-seven-things-to-read-and-watch-on-the-71st-anniversary-of-the-moncada-attack-to-get-the-facts-of-what-actually-happened-and-avoid-propaganda/

In the 1950s, Cubans soon learned the Moncada attack was nothing to celebrate | Opinion
By John Suarez

On July 26, at 5:00 a.m., Raúl Castro, age 92, Ramiro Valdés, 91, and Guillermo García Frías, 95, presided over the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the assault on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba. It was a violent act that led to the formation of the July 26th Movement and helped establish a dictatorship with Fidel Castro as its leader.

By contrast, 75 years ago, a delegation representing the Cuban Republic helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations. That republic provided an eight-hour work day; the right to strike; and university autonomy. The island enjoyed a large number of newspapers and radio stations with diverse political and ideological viewpoints. This year, Cuba is observing the Declaration’s 75th anniversary with a new draconian penal code and more beatings and arrests of dissidents.

After Fulgencio Batista’s coup ended Cuban democracy on March 10, 1952, Cubans fell for Fidel Castro, a charismatic young lawyer who promised to return constitutional order. Following the July 26 Moncada attack in 1953, the July 26th Movement’s urban terrorism killed Cubans throughout the rest of the decade. Raúl Castro plotted numerous aircraft hijackings. On Nov. 1, 1958, one such skyjacking killed 17 civilians when the plane crashed.

The United States slapped an arms embargo on the Batista dictatorship in March 1958, thanks to Castro’s July 26th Movement’s lobbying, and in December 1958, the U.S. ambassador in Havana pressed Batista to leave.

On Jan. 1, 1959, Fidel Castro rose to power and was quickly recognized by the United States. Raúl Castro remains there today.

What happened to the Cubans who, in good faith, used violence to effect democratic change?

For the whole article, click the following:
John Suarez is executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba

https://www.yahoo.com/news/1950s-cubans-soon-learned-moncada-221614597.html

https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article277714198.html

Father Alberto Reyes, a fervent critic of the Cuban government, sent a heartfelt message this Saturday to political prisoners and their families, acknowledging his perspective as an outsider to their harsh reality. In a text shared on Facebook, Fr. Reyes advises them to pray to God with genuine words from their soul. He encourages them to express their pain, anger, and fear, but above all, to seek the light for their souls so that imprisonment does not corrupt them.
https://www.cubaheadlines.com/articles/284700

CubaBrief: Twelve years ago today, Cuban government agents assassinated pro-democracy leaders Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero.

Payá’s family today urged Madrid to reveal Havana’s role in the assassination of Payá, a dual national.
On this day 12 years ago agents of the Cuban dictatorship murdered pro-democracy leaders Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero. Oswaldo Payá was a founder of the Christian Liberation Movement, a Sakharov Laureate who had been twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He also had dual Cuban – Spanish citizenship. Harold Cepero was a youth leader in the Christian Liberation Movement.

After that, eleven years ago Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to examine the evidence around the deaths of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero on July 22, 2012.

https://youtu.be/Rl0g_F-NPrg

Read the full Brief: https://cubacenter.org/uncategorized/2024/07/22/cubabrief-twelve-years-ago-today-cuban-government-agents-assassinated-pro-democracy-leaders-oswaldo-paya-and-harold-cepero/

🚨 NEVER FORGET THEM! 🚨
Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero were subjected to various acts of violence, harassment, threats, and attempts on their lives, when finally, a vehicle crash by a car driven by a Cuban government agent caused their death on July 22, 2012.

Source:https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/decisions/2023/ADM_14-196_EN.pdf

CubaBrief: 30 years since the AMIA building in Buenos Aires was bombed by Hezbollah killing 85. Castro pioneered kind of guerrilla warfare Hezbollah has relied on.

Eighty-five people were killed by Hezbollah on July 18, 1994 in an act of international terrorism. Today, the world marked thirty years since the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires, the individuals responsible have yet to be brought to justice.

Hezbollah and Iran were Responsible for the Attack
The government of Argentina and the World Jewish Congress report that this act of terrorism was carried out by Hezbollah and supported by Iran.
https://youtu.be/U_ObZ_Mvl1w

Havana Permitted Hezbollah to Establish a Base in Cuba
Havana has allowed the terrorist organization Hezbollah to establish “an operational base in Cuba, designed to support terrorist attacks throughout Latin America,” according to emails intercepted from then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Cuban dictatorship has had a longstanding affiliation with this terrorist organization, and it has a significant problem with Jews.

Hezbollah’s Praise for Fidel Castro
When Fidel Castro died in 2016, the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah praised him as “a historic symbol whose life was a lighthouse to all revolutionaries around the world,” according to the party’s spokesman. Castro and Che Guevara pioneered the type of guerilla warfare relied on by Hezbollah and other terror groups, reported The Times of Israel.

Read the full Brief: https://cubacenter.org/uncategorized/2024/07/18/cubabrief-30-years-since-the-amia-building-in-buenos-aires-was-bombed-by-hezbollah-killing-85-castro-pioneered-kind-of-guerrilla-warfare-hezbollah-has-relied-on/

🚨 Cuba Ranks Highest per capita Prisoner Rates in the World 🚨
Civil Rights Defenders, based in Sweden, and Prisoners Defenders, based in Spain, co-hosted a news conference on January 13, 2020, in Madrid, Spain, revealing that thousands of Cubans are jailed for what they think, say, or may potentially do in the future. Present at the briefing was Edel González Jiménez, a Cuban judge who spent more than 15 years on the bench and once supervised 65 other judges. His revelations are believed to be the first public challenge to the Cuban government by a top member of the judiciary. The former judge now resides in Peru but is speaking openly about the Cuban legal system he worked in.

According to a January 13, 2020, article published in The New York Times, documents examined showed that approximately 92 percent of those accused in the more than 32,000 cases that go to trial in Cuba every year are found guilty. Nearly 4,000 people every year are accused of being "antisocial" or "dangerous," terms the Cuban government uses to jail people who pose a risk to the status quo without having committed a crime. Furthermore, the article states that records show Cuba’s prison system holds more than 90,000 prisoners. The Cuban government has only publicly released the figure once, in 2012, when it claimed that 57,000 people were jailed.

The numbers of prisoners in Cuba are some of the largest per capita in the world.

Using the figure of 90,000 prisoners for a population of 11 million in 2024 appears to be an undercount.

According to Europa Press in 2020, the number of prisoners was placed at 127,458, which was prior to the July 2021 protests and the major crackdown that followed. As of 2024, Cuba has a population of 11,185,101.

El Salvador, with a population of 6.54 million, has 71,000 prisoners and a rate per capita of 1,086. Cuba, with a population of 11,185,101, has 127,458 prisoners, resulting in a rate per capita of 1,140, edging out El Salvador for the highest prisoner rate per capita in the world.

View Youtube of the Conferencia de Prensa: Situación penal. Vías de diálogo en Cuba. Prisoners Defenders 13/1/2020 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQrBd6c6NFc

CubaBrief: Setting the record straight on the Smithsonian’s omissions about Celia Cruz, and the date the U.S. quarter with her image will be available.

On July 16, 2003, Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso passed away at the age of 77 after a long illness. Her millions of fans worldwide mourned her death. Large Cuban exile communities in Miami, Florida and Hoboken, New Jersey experienced particularly strong waves of grief. She was better known under her stage name, Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa.

Celia Cruz on the U.S. Quarter
Next month on August 12, 2024 the U.S. Mint will begin to circulate her image on the U.S. quarter. under the American Women Quarters Program. Twenty one years after her passing she remains a cultural icon, but her legacy is contested by some, and misrepresented by others.

The mourning for Celia in 2003 was nearly universal, except in her homeland Cuba where the official media printed a small note on her passing recognizing Celia as an “important Cuban performer who popularized our country’s music in the United States,” it went on to say that “during the last four decades, she was systematically active in campaigns against the Cuban revolution generated in the United States.”

Read the full Brief: https://cubacenter.org/cuba-brief-archives/2024/07/16/cubabrief-setting-the-record-straight-on-the-smithsonians-omissions-about-celia-cruz-and-the-date-the-u-s-quarter-with-her-image-will-be-available/

José Martí, known as "The Apostle of Cuban Independence," was a key figure in Cuba’s struggle for freedom from Spanish colonial rule. A passionate poet and visionary leader, Martí's writings and actions continue to inspire the quest for liberty and justice.

CubaBrief: Diaz-Canel attempts to whitewash the dictatorship’s history of terrorism, murder, and violence in his message on the attempted assassination of former President Trump

Failed Whitewash
First, Miguel Diaz-Canel’s statement in response to the attempted assassination of former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump contradicts Cuba’s contemporary reality. For the past 65 years, Havana has used violence and state terrorism against its citizens, assassinating, disappearing, attacking, and imprisoning them just for dissenting.

Providing Context to the Outrage
Secondly, to make such a statement on July 13th was particularly outrageous. July 13 marked 30 years since the 13 de Marzo Tugboat massacre when the forces of the government Diaz-Canel now represents utilized high-pressure hoses and three other tugboats to attack, sink, and murder 37 Cubans, 10 of which were children.

Blood on Diaz-Canel’s hands
Equally appalling was Diaz-Canel making the statement three years ago on July 11, 2021, Diaz-Canel when on Cuban national television and issued “the order of combat. This gave a green light for government agents to beat down and gun down Cubans who engaged in the nationwide nonviolent protests that spontaneously erupted that day. The full number of extrajudicial executions remains unknown. This is due to officials terrorizing the families of the victims into silence. Diaz-Canel, representing the Cuban dictatorship, cannot claim to be a victim of violence when the dictatorship he represents is one of the worst perpetrators.

Read the full Brief: https://cubacenter.org/uncategorized/2024/07/15/cubabrief-diaz-canel-attempts-to-whitewash-dictatorships-history-of-terrorism-murder-and-violence-in-his-message-on-the-attempted-assassination-of-former-president-trump/

On this day in 2003 Cuban artist Celia Cruz passed away. 21 years later her music remains banned by Havana. Other Afro-Cuban artists are jailed in Cuba today for defending human rights.
https://youtu.be/ZdswDhJUmLw?si=W_6boMdUWt6-_zNX

Ignite Change: Your Power, Your Cuba! Visit centerforafreecuba.org and Stand with A Free Cuba. Let's shape a brighter future together. Join the movement! 🔗

Thirty years ago, in the early hours of July 13, 1994, seven miles off the coast of Cuba, 37 Cubans aboard the "13 de Marzo" tugboat were massacred by Cuban government agents.
Source: https://cidh.oas.org/annualrep/96eng/Cuba11436.htm
Video: https://youtu.be/9bud8kvas8M?si=G--NkOaycR8tP6UF

CubaBrief: Officials in Communist Cuba Commit Extrajudicial Killings. Amnesty calls on them to release unjustly jailed Cubans, end repressive laws

To promote a nonviolent transition to a Cuba that respects human rights, political and economic freedoms, and the rule of law.


Officials in Communist Cuba Commit Extrajudicial Killings. Amnesty calls on them to release unjustly jailed Cubans, end repressive laws


Firstly, the month of July marks some major events in Cuban history. Three years ago, Cubans took to the streets across the island, and the Cuban dictatorship’s violent response, which included the arbitrary detention of thousands of Cubans and the use of lethal force, must be condemned, victims and martyrs identified, and justice sought. A nonviolent demonstration and vigil will take place tomorrow at 7:00pm at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC.
Secondly, the deadly crackdown on nonviolent demonstrators in July 2021 in response to nationwide protests, the murder of Cuban dissidents Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero in July 2012, and the massacre of 37 Cubans in July 1994, when the “13 de Marzo” tugboat was attacked and sunk, were all atrocities committed by Cuban dictatorship agents. Justice requires that they all be held accountable, and that the roughly 1,100 existing political prisoners be quickly released. For a more in-depth look at these crimes, read John Suarez’s essay, which appeared today in Politics and Rights Review.

Read More: https://centerforafreecuba.cmail19.com/t/d-l-edjiddd-ikllljtlkj-u/

A surge of anti-government protests in Cuba in July 2021 has turned a spotlight back on calls for reform in the one-party Communist country. For Cuban Americans whose families left the country in previous decades, it’s a reminder of what was lost and gained in their immigration to the U.S. NBCLX storyteller Eric Rodriguez takes a closer look at the Cuban emigration stories that are at the heart of the Cuban American experience.
https://youtu.be/7qVVp6tKHQo?si=MfJsD9xX0JlM2o9H

Chairman Guillermo Marmol shares the power of your contribution. Learn how your support can make a real difference in the journey toward a free Cuba. Together, we can drive change. 💪✨

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPN_ByOLDIc&t=120s

On Wednesday, July 10th at 7:00pm, free Cubans, and friends of freedom, will gather outside the Cuban Embassy in Washington DC [2630 16th St NW ] for a vigil to demonstrate our solidarity with Cubans jailed or killed by the Cuban dictatorship for seeking to live in freedom.

CubaBrief: Cuban dictatorship’s blockade on humanitarian assistance. In Cuba, a container of humanitarian aid sent by UK religious org is taken.

Havana calls the United States economic embargo a “blockade.” This is not true as the State Department (and U.S. – Cuba trade statistics over the past 25 years) demonstrate. It is a lame excuse for the Cuban dictatorship’s failure.

The current economic debacle in Cuba is primarily due to 65 years of communist central planning under a totalitarian government. There is no rule of law, and decisions are neither obvious or transparent in Cuba. This includes the arbitrary confiscation or acceptance of humanitarian assistance, as demonstrated in four cases over the last three decades.

Read more: https://centerforafreecuba.cmail19.com/t/d-l-edytrjd-ikllljtlkj-jr/