Sayli Navarro: An iconic image in the struggle for freedom in Cuba.

By Michael Lima, March 13, 2024.

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.

Sayli is one of the 114 courageous women political prisoners in Cuba. Since April 18, 2022, the regime arbitrarily upheld her sentence of 8 years in prison on manufactured charges of "attempted attack," "public disorder," and "contempt," following the protests of July 11 and 12, 2021. Saylí is among the courageous Cuban political prisoners who have boldly declared that she will not trade their freedom for forced exile, as the State Security seeks to impose. His father, Félix Navarro, a pro-democratic leader and founder of the Pedro Luis Boitel Movement, a former prisoner of conscience from the Black Spring of 2003, was also sentenced in March 2022 to 9 years in prison on the same fabricated charges.

This fearless Cuban woman has devoted a significant portion of her life to the peaceful fight for democracy in Cuba. Serving as a pivotal figure in the Ladies in White Movement in Matanzas for decades, Sayli fearlessly answered her organization's call to participate in peaceful marches alongside other brave women through the streets of her hometown in Colón, with the aim of reaching the church and praying for the liberation of political prisoners in Cuba.

In several exchanges of ideas we had, I had the opportunity to perceive the essence of her unwavering spirit, profound humanity, and solidarity with those in Nicaragua and Venezuela who are also striving for Cuba's freedom.

In reference to the iconic photo, Sayli recounted to me the cruelty of her oppressors. She said, "Those were 75 very, very difficult Sundays... On that Sunday, one of the two green-uniformed women, in a threatening tone, said to me inside the patrol car, gripping my chin: 'You're lucky because today I'm in uniform.' That's the nature of this regime and its lackeys.”

Saylí epitomizes the ongoing struggle for Cuba's democracy that began over 65 years ago, carried forward by a new generation of courageous Cuban women and men. She reaffirms that the seed of a democratic Cuba will flourish within its pro-democracy movement, that the heart of resistance in Cuba has beaten and will continue to beat.

Michael Lima is a human rights activist and an expert in Cuban and Latin American history and politics. He has lectured on modern Latin American history, holds a Master’s Degree/Ph.D. candidacy in Latin American History from the University of Toronto, and is the founder of Democratic Spaces, an NGO seeking solidarity in Canada with human rights defenders and civil society in Cuba.