Appeal: It is time for Cuba Libre

Today, the Cuban people face an imminent risk of societal collapse. This crisis is the product of forces both within and outside the country, forces that ordinary Cubans have not been allowed to shape or influence. The country’s economy and infrastructure are disintegrating after decades of internal mismanagement and external sanctions, now pushed to a critical point by the closure of the vital lifeline of oil imports from Venezuela.

Standing on the brink of catastrophe, Cuba’s answer must be democracy and freedom. The Cuban government must welcome democratic reform. Foreign powers involved in Cuban affairs, while claiming democratic legitimacy at home, must also live up to their professed values in the ways they exercise influence over Cuba.

A first and uncompromising step toward democratic reform is to allow freedom of expression and to renounce the use of violence to suppress non-violent dissent. 

The organization Prisoners Defenders has registered 1,197 political prisoners in Cuba, among them 32 minors.

Prisoners Defenders further reports that these prisoners are regularly afflicted by infectious diseases such as dengue, tuberculosis, Oropouche fever, and chikungunya; that they suffer from insufficient access to food and medical care; and that they report mistreatment and torture.

Among the political prisoners currently held in Cuban jails is the artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. He was recognized as arbitrarily detained by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2022, selected as the Rafto Human Rights Laureate in 2024, and awarded the Havel Prize for Creative Dissent by the Human Rights Foundation in 2025.

The legitimacy of the increased pressure currently exerted on the Cuban government by the United States may reasonably be questioned. Regardless of the conclusions one may draw from such questioning, violations of human rights must be acknowledged and addressed independently of who the perpetrator is, and independently of the political circumstances under which the opportunity to address the violations occur. 

We appeal to all actors to recognize and support the human right of all Cuban citizens to have their basic needs met and to have their voices heard in the conversation on how Cuban society may navigate the current crisis toward a just and sustainable future.

We further urge all states that have formally recommended that Cuba ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and/or cooperate fully with the United Nations human rights system, and/or release those detained for exercising their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, to engage in constructive dialogue with both the United States and the Cuban government to secure the meaningful inclusion of ordinary Cuban citizens in a process aiming for democratic reform.

Finally, we call on the government of Cuba to demonstrate its willingness to engage in such this process by ordering the immediate and unconditional release of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and all other political prisoners, and by allowing political exiles to return to Cuba without fear of retaliation by the state upon their arrival.

The Rafto Foundation