Miami, November 19, 2025 – “Arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, and threats.” These were some of the acts of violence reported on Monday, November 17, by members of the Cuban organization Ladies in White during a private hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), held as part of the 194th Period of Sessions in Miami, United States.

The delegation was made up of activists Lourdes Esquivel, Blanca Reyes, and María Elena Alpízar, who participated as representatives of the organization in exile. Esquivel recounted the state repression she suffered until December 2022, when she was exiled. Forced exile continues to be one of the practices used by the Cuban regime to punish and silence women human rights defenders, as was the case with activist Aymara Nieto, also a member of the Ladies in White, who was released in August 2025 on the condition that she leave the island.

The hearing was requested by the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights. During his statement, lawyer Fernando Goldar recalled that two members of the Ladies in White remain imprisoned: Sissi Abascal and Saylí Navarro, incarcerated for belonging to the organization and demanding respect for their fundamental rights.

Before the IACHR, the delegation composed of representatives of the Ladies in White and Race and Equality exposed the systematic pattern of violence perpetrated by the Cuban State for more than two decades. This includes thousands of arbitrary detentions without official record, forced disappearances, constant surveillance, harassment, and threats directed at both activists and their families. They also denounced differential treatment based on gender and race, including sexualized insults, reprisals linked to their caregiving roles, and specific discrimination against members of African descent. They also pointed to criminalization through ambiguous criminal charges, the impossibility of exercising their religious freedom due to systematic detentions on Sundays, and restrictions imposed since 2021 on meeting or accessing the organization’s headquarters. None of these incidents has been investigated, perpetuating a situation of absolute impunity.

The testimonies presented reflect how a group of women, initially mobilized to demand the release of their relatives imprisoned for political reasons (in 2003), has established itself as a benchmark in the defense of human rights in Cuba, in the region, and internationally. However, the attacks and reprisals they face seek to remove them from public life and disrupt their work.

The Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights reiterates its commitment to supporting the Ladies in White and to continuously denouncing violations committed against women activists in Cuba. We call on the IACHR to condemn these acts and on the international community to support and accompany the legitimate demand for respect and protection for the members of this organization.