Across the United States last month, people bore witness to the devastating effects of Hurricane Milton, from the flooding of Asheville, North Carolina to the destructive storm that hit Florida in the first few weeks of October. But the place hit the hardest may have been an island almost the size of Florida with almost half as many people just 90 miles from Key West: Cuba.
Former U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha has been arrested after allegedly spying for Cuba’s General Directorate of Intelligence for more than 40 years. On Dec. 4, 2023, the Justice Department publicized the charges against Rocha, which directly cite him as being a “clandestine agent,” The Washington Post reported.
In recent months, online personalities have been recruiting Cuban nationals to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine through platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. While initially promised money and employment, they are then forced to the front lines of the war upon arriving in Russia, CNN reported.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.
By Madhavi Rao ’24
Staff Writer
Cuba experienced a rare expression of dissent from the public in the 21st century on Friday, Nov. 27. About 300 artists and activists gathered outside the Cuban Ministry of Culture to protest the imprisonment of Denis Solís Gonzáles, a member of the dissenting San Isidro Movement. A few of the collected protesters who were challenging the violation of artists’ freedom of expression in the country were invited to have a dialogue with government officials. However, later in the week, the Cuban government made it clear that communication would not continue.
Gonzáles was imprisoned for his comments against a police officer who broke into his home, describing him as a “chicken in uniform,” triggering protests, according to The Washington Post. On Nov. 9, Gonzáles was detained and sentenced to eight months in a maximum security prison for the crime of “contempt,” as reported by Amnesty International. Erika Guevara-Rosas, the Americas director of Amnesty, said, “No one should be imprisoned for ‘contempt’ against a public official, a provision of the criminal code that Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have consistently called on the Cuban authorities to repeal.”
Gonzáles’ imprisonment was met with outrage from the rest of the SIM, a collection of artists, academics, journalists and musicians who actively resist the Cuban government. Founded in 2018 by Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, the movement was created to fight the oppressive communist government in Cuba. Following Gonzáles’ arrest, the SIM assembled together to protest, ultimately resulting in a hunger strike against the violation of their civil liberties. According to Al-Jazeera, on Thursday, Nov. 26, the SIM headquarters were raided by police, who cited COVID-19 restrictions.
“The recent protests are remarkable, considering the authoritarian government’s tight controls on dissent,” Maahi Jaiswaal ’24, an economics and politics double major who has lived in Cuba, said. “With the little that I remember about living in Cuba, I can affirm that art and dance was a major aspect of Cuba’s rich culture. It is apt that the artists behind the art are due freedom of expression in their profession, and with the way that the world is progressing, the Cuban authorities should look into their demands before the talent has to be forcibly removed,” Jaiswaal added.
The protest was attended and supported by many famous artists and performers in Cuba.
Along with the release of Gonzáles and other jailed protesters, the crowd demanded the government respect their freedom of expression. This is in light of laws such as Decree 349, which prohibited artists from performing in public or private spaces without the approval of the Ministry of Culture, per a statement released by Amnesty International. The censorship decree essentially decides who qualifies as an artist and who doesn’t.
Initially, the government had agreed to listen to the protesters’ demands on Nov. 27, with officials agreeing to review Gonzáles’ case and hold future talks to understand the artists’ frustrations. However, at a rally on Nov. 29, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel described the protests as an “imperialist reality show,” saying that the protests were led by the United States. The culture ministry similarly defaulted on its promise, saying it would “not meet with people who have direct contact and receive financing, logistical support and propagandistic backing from the U.S. government,” according to Reuters.
Lisett Bonilla ’22, an international relations and economics double major, said of the issue, “I believe this is a crucial time for Cuban society. Freedom of expression is essential to everyone and a human right.” She went on to describe how the situation could be improved, saying, “I urge U.S. institutions to support these artists who are opposing the grip of an authoritarian system. Cuba is also going through an economic crisis and ignoring these issues can have horrible repercussions for Cuban society overall as well as its relations with the U.S.”
BY EMMA RUBIN '20
On Oct. 4, category 4 Hurricane Matthew directly impacted the Caribbean, most notably devastating Haiti. From Haiti, the storm went on to make landfall in Cuba, the Bahamas and the Southeastern U.S. Although Matthew only made landfall in these nations, Jamaica, Curacao, Aruba, Turks and Caicos and the Dominican Republic (which is on the same island as Haiti) were also affected either through hurricane or tropical storm effects, according to CNN.
