OP/ED: Michael Lima of Democratic Spaces contends that Rubio’s confirmation and a new Canadian government could redefine North American engagement in Latin America, fostering democratic reforms.

Message to the people of Cuba at a time millions across the island are suffering a brutal and complete violation of their political, civil, economic, and social rights at the hands of a ruling elite that imposes its power by force. Streamed live on Oct 19. 2024 in a Press Conferenced held by the Assembly of Cuban Resistance in Miami, Florida and streamed live via Martí Noticias, Cubanet, ADN Cuba, Radio Republic, and short wave radio given the nation wide outage in Cuba.

Through Democratic Spaces, as part of the Human Rights Coalition, we have submitted questions to Canada's Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the Public Hearings of the Inquiry Commission in Ottawa. Why the Government of Canada overlooks Cuba's authoritarian ties with Russia and China? Why Canada’s embassy in Cuba does not engage with peaceful activists, organizations, and independent journalists fighting for democracy?

On May 20, 2024, Michael Lima, Dir of Democratic Spaces reflected on the 39th anniversary of Radio Martí broadcasts to Cuba and its meaning circumventing censorship, while informing and connecting Cubans in the island and the global diaspora. My thoughts in English and Spanish.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has decided to continue monitoring the precautionary measures granted to José Daniel Ferrer García on November 5, 2012, to protect his life and personal integrity.

Resolution 27/2024, issued on May 6, 2024, highlights Ferrer's current risks in prison, where he has been held since July 11, 2021: isolation, reported physical and psychological torture in appalling conditions, lack of access to medication, and the use of medical attention and medication as leverage by prison authorities, in addition to inadequate food. Urgent action is needed to address these grave violations of human rights. 

Over the last decade, hundreds of cases of transnational repression perpetrated by regimes such as China, Russia, Iran, Turkey and others have been documented. However, little attention has been paid to the Cuban case, which is paradoxical given the marked increase in this practice carried out openly by the island's regime in recent years. In this article, I will discuss the growing systematic nature of this practice and contend that it represents a desperate response from the Cuban regime to abruptly curb the rise of activism and democratic mobilization among Cubans in the diaspora. These individuals support their compatriots' calls for democratic change and economic reform in Cuba.

This essay originally published by Michael Lima in Latinoamerica21 argues there is a direct relationship between the official discourse of intolerance and dehumanization of the other in Cuba and political repression. It concludes by analyzing how this relationship between discourse and repression has a more destructive impact on the individual in Cuba due to their state of defenselessness without access to an independent judicial system to defend against human rights violations by the ruling elite.

Las frases excluyentes para referirse al pensamiento que difiera del oficialismo, el asesinato de la reputación y la agresión verbal y física de los opositores son una constante de los métodos del régimen.

Democratic Spaces has compiled a synopsis of repression in Cuba for the month of March, focusing primarily on the regime's response to the protests on March 17th and 18th, along with other repressive actions, their context, and implications, based on reports from various human rights organizations.

On March 26, 2024, the Provincial Court of Camagüey, consisting of Maydel Yadró Hernández, Yaneisy Estrada Robles (Ponente Judge), and Belkis Miranda Pérez, denied Aniette González's appeal, represented by her defense attorney Yanisdey Cruz, against her unjust three-year sentence for the alleged crime of "Offense against national symbols.” At Democratic Spaces, we strongly condemn the ongoing criminalization of peaceful protests in Cuba, and the denial of the appeal filed by Cuban activist Aniette Gonzalez against her unjust three-year prison sentence for the fabricated crime of "Offense against National Symbols."

There are winds of change in Cuba, and the brave Cuban people are its protagonists. The recent demonstrations in cities like Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Cárdenas, and Bayamo on March 16t,. 17th and 18th are a reaffirmation that the heart of peaceful resistance against oppression and misery beats in Cuba. What follows is a summary of the protests along with photos and videos that capture popular demand in the voice of people across Cuba.

In the timeless struggle for freedom and democracy, there are iconic moments captured in photos that have become part of the history of resistance against oppression. While the Chinese remember the image of an anonymous hero standing before a column of tanks parading through Tiananmen Square after the massacre, and Venezuelans cherish the memory of a young man bravely protesting naked in front of the tanks of the Bolivarian National Guard during April 2017, Cubans have the image of Saylí Navarro. She stood tall, head held high, defiant, displaying courage and pride in being on the right side of history when she was arrested by thugs of the Ministry of the Interior in Cuba in 2013.

Without pressure, there is no change. That's why I consider the recent joint motion for a European Parliament resolution on the critical human rights situation in Cuba presented in the European Parliament with 285 votes in favor, 172 against, and 46 abstentions, approved on February 29, 2024, to be of great importance. This motion for an EU resolution calls for targeted sanctions (Magnitsky style) against the handpicked president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and the main perpetrators of serious human rights violations in Cuba.

Democratic Spaces, una ONG canadiense de derechos humanos que apoya el derecho soberano de toda persona a participar en la resistencia pacífica contra toda forma de opresión en Cuba y en cualquier otro lugar, condena enérgicamente el uso distorsionado que el régimen cubano hace del sistema de notificaciones rojas de INTERPOL. Esta manipulación tiene por objeto perseguir, detener, encarcelar, difamar, restringir la libertad de circulación y silenciar a los críticos a escala mundial. Consideramos que se trata de un claro ejemplo de represión transnacional, una táctica empleada sistemáticamente por los gobiernos autoritarios para reprimir la disidencia más allá de sus fronteras, especialmente dentro de las comunidades de la diáspora y el exilio.