The collective manifesto of six women activists from Latin America and the Caribbean

The collective manifesto of six women activists from Latin America and the Caribbean

Washington, D.C., March 6, 2026—On February 19, six women activists from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic gathered for a virtual meeting that we at Race and Equality called “When Women Create, Memory Endures.” For an hour and a half, they shared who they were, where they were fighting from, and the realities they were facing in their territories. From that exchange, a collective manifesto was born that takes on special meaning today in the context of March 8, International Women’s Day.

Participants in this space included Eva Rafaela Calça, from Rede Trans Assis in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Andrea Ceballos, from the Indigenous Organization of the Pasto Territory in Colombia; María Camila Zúñiga, from the Movement of United, Diverse, and Emancipated Women (Mude), also from Colombia; Lourdes Esquivel, member of the Damas de Blanco organization in Cuba; Daniela Islas, from the Afrocaracolas collective in Mexico; and Estefany Feliz Pérez, from the Reconoci.Do youth movement in the Dominican Republic. For many of them, it was the first time they had shared a common space among such diverse struggles, but all driven by the same urgency: dignity.

The exercise culminated in the writing of a manifesto that reflects their collective voice and their main demands:

We, the women of Latin America and the Caribbean, unite in a powerful cry to demand equality and justice. Love and strength are what sustain us in this daily struggle.

From yesterday and today, we recognize the strength and determination of our history. We are the driving force. We are treasures of the world.

We fight to feel safe and equal, to be recognized and treated with dignity, from an anti-racist and decolonial perspective.

Today and always, we demand respect and freedom in all spaces!”

This call does not come out of nowhere. Latin America and the Caribbean continue to be marked by structural violence against women. In the last five years, at least 19,254 femicides have been recorded in the region, according to ECLAC’s Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (OIG). In most cases, violent deaths are perpetrated by partners or ex-partners, demonstrating that gender-based violence continues to be present in everyday spaces.

Femicide Violence in the Region

Brazil tops the most alarming figures. In 2025, it recorded 1,470 femicides, the highest number in the last decade, an average of four women murdered per day, according to data from the Ministry of Justice. In this context, Eva Rafaela Calça insisted that violence is not limited to murder: it is also expressed in exclusion and overload. For her, there is an urgent need for “a public space that values childhood as a responsibility of society as a whole, and not just of the mother,” because often “the mother is overburdened,” as well as policies that expand job opportunities for trans women “beyond informality and prostitution.” Her reflection connects femicide violence with the lack of care policies and the structural marginalization of trans women.

In Colombia, where the Colombian Observatory on Femicide reported 973 cases in 2025, impunity remains an open wound. María Camila Zúñiga recalled that, in addition to demanding justice for the murders, it is essential that “the work that women do with children, from the territories, be recognized” and that their lives be dignified. “We know that when a woman is murdered, justice does not always come,” she added.

In Mexico, where the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System recorded 721 femicides in 2025, violence is intertwined with structural racism. Daniela Islas warned that for Afro-Mexican women, recognition is also urgent: “What we need most urgently is recognition of our rights, more public policies for Afro-Mexican women, where we are guaranteed medical care.” She also referred to what she most desires: “We imagine a world without racism, without discrimination, where our rights as Afro-Mexican women are recognized and protected.” Gender-based violence in her territory cannot be separated from racial discrimination.

In Cuba, independent organizations such as the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory (OGAT) and Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba (YSTCC) recorded 48 femicides in 2025 and warn that these crimes are the result of prolonged violence. Lourdes Esquivel expressed it from the harshness of her reality: “In Cuba, all women’s rights are violated. They imprison our children, they kill them, they beat us. We go hungry. There are children who have nothing to eat.” Her testimony reminded us that violence also manifests itself in hunger, repression, and daily pain.

In the Dominican Republic, where 59 murders of women were recorded last year (according to the Vida Sin Violencia Foundation), these figures coexist with policies and practices that particularly affect migrant women and women of Haitian descent. Estefany Feliz Pérez reported that, without identity documents, “they do not receive health care, nor can they study,” and that there is “persecution against Haitian women and Dominican women of Haitian descent” that even involves arbitrary detentions and undue payments.

Globally, women have only 64% of the legal rights that men have, according to UN Women. At the current rate, closing the gaps could take centuries. Against this backdrop, the virtual meeting on February 19 was more than just a symbolic space: it was a commitment to regional coordination.

This manifesto is also proof that it is possible to build agreements amid diversity. Six women from different backgrounds, with their own stories and struggles, managed to come together without having met before, listen to each other attentively, and recognize each other in their differences. In this exercise in honest and respectful dialogue, they identified common needs and forged a collective voice. This virtual space not only allowed them to share complaints, but also to demonstrate that regional coordination is a powerful tool when it is based on listening, respect, and the awareness that no struggle is isolated.

At Race and Equality, we reaffirm our commitment to giving a voice to those who resist from the territories and to supporting their demands. Because when women create together, memory endures; and when memory endures, the future is also built.



Cuba’s independent civil society, ready for a democratic transition

For more than a decade, we have been fortunate to work with Cuba’s independent civil society. We have seen their commitment to human rights, their dedication to documenting the violations that happen in the country, and their courage in exposing them. We have witnessed—through urgent messages and calls that lead to reactions by our legal team—arbitrary detentions, summary trials, surveillance, harassment, raids, forced exile, and, more recently, blackouts and food and medicine shortages. We have also faced our own negative impacts from this work – personal and institutional attacks, as well as skepticism on the part of former allies who have questioned our human rights work in general because of our work exposing the Cuban reality.

As a capacity building organization, we have trained independent activists on and off the Island on civil society engagement with human rights protection mechanisms. Through systematic documentation of human rights violations – analyzed according to the international legal standards to which the Cuban State has adhered – we have supported them to denounce cases of torture, enforced disappearance, censorship, and discrimination before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and United Nations Treaty Bodies and Special Procedures. By advocating for Cuba’s compliance with its international human rights obligations, our partners have been laying the groundwork for democratic transition for years. Their work is not merely opposition; it is preparatory governance.

While Washington and Havana negotiate the future of the island nation, the work, dedication, and perseverance of independent activists, journalists, and artists on the Island and in exile to fight for human rights and promote democratic ideals should not go unrecognized. They are the ones who have been collecting and sharing the evidence of the Cuban regime’s atrocities and this documentation should serve as a key element of any future government transition. While the Cuban government has maintained a monolithic façade, a diverse and resilient independent civil society has been quietly building the architecture of a free society from the ground up. The future of Cuba cannot happen without them.

The international community has recognized that in any transitional justice process, five elements must be considered: truth, justice, memory, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition. It is not possible to achieve any of these without records of what has occurred during the undemocratic era and Cuban human rights defenders have been preparing already, as independent journalists break the state monopoly on information (truth); independent lawyers file habeas petitions before Cuban courts and cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (justice); activists document patterns of abuses committed by State actors (memory); community groups provide aid where the State fails (reparation); and organizations like ours provide the tools to foster civic dialogue and democratic norms (non-repetition).

The most profound preparation lies in the commitment to the historical record. By creating databases of human rights violations and preserving the testimony of victims, independent groups are preventing the “erasure” that often follows authoritarian regimes. They understand that you cannot have justice without a record of the crime, and you cannot guarantee non-repetition if the history of the past is allowed to vanish into state archives. This is not just protest; it is the fundamental administrative labor required to restore the rule of law.

The international community must stop viewing Cuba as a passive recipient of history. The groundwork for a democratic transition—the human capital, the legal theories, and the civic courage—is already in place. The transition will not be a gift from the top down; it will be the formal recognition of a reality that independent civil society has been living for decades. Cubans are not waiting for democracy to be handed to them; they have been building it, brick by brick, in the face of immense adversity. It is time the world starts paying attention to the foundation they have laid.

Statement written by:

Carlos Quesada, Executive Director

Christina M. Fetterhoff, Director of Programs

  • Learn more about our work in Cuba over more than a decade here.



19 Years after the Attack on Ernestina Ascencio, Family and Organizations Demand Compliance with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

  • Two months after the Inter-American Court issued its ruling, the Mexican government has yet to propose a roadmap for compliance with the ruling.

Mexico, February 25, 2026 – Nineteen years after the sexual assault perpetrated by members of the Mexican Army against Ernestina Ascencio Rosario, a 73-year-old monolingual Nahua indigenous woman, which, combined with a lack of medical care, led to her death, her family and the organizations that represent them demand that the Mexican State comply fully and without delay with the ruling issued on December 16, 2025, by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) and express our concern at the absence of a roadmap for its implementation.

The day after the notification, the litigating organizations formally requested that the Mexican State submit a roadmap as soon as possible presenting concrete actions and proposals for compliance with the measures ordered by the Court. However, to date, the State has not made a proposal, which delays effective access to justice, truth, and reparation for Ernestina and her family, and jeopardizes the timely fulfillment of its international obligations.

Historic ruling

This anniversary comes at a historic moment. After almost two decades of impunity, the Inter-American Court declared the Mexican State internationally responsible for the violations perpetrated against Ernestina and her family, as well as for the undue intervention of high-level authorities to ensure the impunity of those responsible, and for the linguistic barriers and discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, and age that led to the denial of justice, which constituted a violation of the right to truth of Ernestina’s relatives and of society as a whole.

Consequently, the Court ordered the State to “implement various measures of reparation, including a thorough and serious criminal investigation into the rape, torture, and death of Ernestina in order to identify, prosecute, and punish those responsible; provide medical, psychological, and/or psychiatric treatment to the relatives; hold a public act of recognition of international responsibility; implement training and capacity-building programs for public officials; strengthen the Soledad Atzompa Specialized Care Center; and create a National Registry of Interpreters and Translators in Indigenous Languages for the health and justice systems,” among other measures.

This ruling sets a historic precedent that recognizes the multiple forms of discrimination faced by indigenous women in the hemisphere and reaffirms the obligation of States to guarantee access to justice without discrimination.

The decision is also the result of the tireless struggle of Ernestina’s family, who for almost two decades refused to accept silence and oblivion. As her daughter Martha Inés Ascencio has said: “The ruling should help ensure that what happened to my mother does not happen to any other woman.”

The Mexican State has the opportunity and the obligation to honor this ruling through concrete, transparent, and timely actions that guarantee justice for the family and contribute to the non-repetition of these events.

Nineteen years after these events, we remember Ernestina Ascencio Rosario with respect and dignity. Her memory lives on, and her case has set a fundamental precedent in the fight against impunity and discrimination. The truth has been recognized. Now, the ruling must be enforced.

Signed:

–          Lawyers for Justice and Human Rights (AJDH)

–          Heriberto Jara Municipal Services Center A.C. (CESEM)

–          Kalli Luz Marina A.C.

–          National Coordinator of Indigenous Women (CONAMI)

–          Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center

–          International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights

Cuba’s Authoritarian Regime Forces Cuban Activist Leticia Ramos, Member of the Ladies in White, into Exile

Washington, D.C., February 10, 2025 — On Monday, February 9, Cuba’s authoritarian regime barred Cuban activist Leticia Ramos, a member of the Ladies in White movement, from entering the country, forcing her into exile. Ramos traveled from the United States to Cuba, but once there, authorities denied her the right to reunite with her family, withheld her luggage, and ordered her to leave the country, forcing her to return to Miami.

Last January, during an interview with Race and Equality, Ramos expressed her fear that the Cuban regime would deny her return to the Island after traveling to the United States to receive medical treatment, a systematic practice used to silence, punish, and force activists into exile. That fear became a reality yesterday. From the Institute, we are accompanying her and have assumed her legal representation in this process, just as we have provided ongoing support to the members of the Ladies in White before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which since October 2013 has granted precautionary measures “to preserve the life and personal integrity” of the women who make up the collective.

Between Resistance and Repression

Leticia Ramos has been a member of the Ladies in White since 2004, when she joined as a supporting member, accompanying women whose relatives were imprisoned during the Black Spring of 2003. Since then, she has consistently taken part in peaceful actions—such as attending Mass dressed in white and carrying flowers—to demand the release of individuals imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba.

Following the death under “suspicious circumstances” of Laura Pollán, founder of the movement, in 2011, Leticia was elected coordinator of the Ladies in White group in the province of Matanzas. From that point on, state harassment intensified, including beatings, threats, constant surveillance, arbitrary detentions, and restrictions on her right to freedom of movement. For nearly nine years, she was subjected to travel restrictions and barred from leaving the country.

Reprisals also extended to her family. Ramos is the mother of two children: one who resides in the United States, and another, Randy Montes de Oca Ramos, who lives in Cuba and has been subjected to persecution, detentions, and criminal proceedings based on false charges, as a means of pressuring his mother to abandon her activism. In 2018, Randy served a six-month sentence of house arrest following public protests carried out by Leticia.

Between 2013 and 2018, Ramos was detained on numerous occasions, at times being deprived of her liberty up to four times in a single week. She attempted to document these acts of repression, but the information was lost following raids on her home in 2016, 2018, and 2019, during which state agents confiscated work materials, electronic devices, and items linked to her activism.

During the protests of July 11, 2021, Leticia decided to demonstrate in Cárdenas despite her family facing a severe case of COVID-19. In that context, she recalled that it was possible to perceive “the regime’s fear in the face of an unarmed people, but one determined to achieve its freedom.”

The forced exile of Leticia Ramos is part of a broader pattern of repressive practices used by the Cuban regime to punish human rights defenders through forced exile, family separation, and constant intimidation.

At Race and Equality, we recognize the trajectory, courage, and resilience of Leticia Ramos, and we reiterate our commitment to accompany her and to denounce this serious violation of her human rights, as well as the broader strategy of silencing activists in Cuba.



We condemn violence against Danne Belmont, trans leader and executive director of the GAAT Foundation in Colombia

Bogotá, February 2, 2026 – The International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights expresses its solidarity with Danne Belmont, executive director of the Trans Support and Action Group Foundation (GAAT), and her partner, who were victims of transphobic violence on February 1, 2026, in Bogotá, Colombia.

At Race and Equality, we strongly reject all forms of violence based on prejudice, particularly that directed against people because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. This incident constitutes a serious violation of human rights and is part of a broader context of structural violence that transgender people in the region persistently face.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in its country report, indicated that Colombia is one of the countries in the region with the highest number of violent deaths of LGBTI people. Between 2022 and 2023 alone, there were 302 murders. Colombia ranks third in Latin America in terms of the number of murders of transgender people, which highlights an extremely dangerous situation. In turn, according to figures from the Defensoría del Pueblo, as of May 2024, this institution had dealt with nearly 290 incidents of violence against people with diverse sexual orientations and identities, including physical violence.

In its observations following its 2024 on-site visit, the IACHR warned of the persistence of violence against this population and the obstacles that LGBTI people face in accessing justice, especially in areas affected by armed conflict. Similarly, the Defensoría del Pueblo has warned of an increase in extreme violence against women and people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, both in private and public spaces, and insisted that every femicide and transfemicide is preventable if the State acts in a timely manner.

We deeply recognize and value the work that Danne Belmont has done as a trans leader and human rights defender, as well as the historic work of the GAAT Foundation in promoting, protecting, and defending the rights of trans people, particularly those in situations of greater vulnerability. Attacks against social leaders and human rights defenders seek to silence voices that are fundamental to building more just and inclusive societies, and cannot be tolerated.

We urgently call on the Colombian State and the competent authorities to conduct prompt, thorough, and gender-based investigations, guaranteeing effective access to justice, the punishment of those responsible, and the adoption of adequate protection measures for Danne Belmont and her partner.

At Race and Equality, we reiterate our commitment to the eradication of transphobia, discrimination, and violence, and we reaffirm that the dignity, life, and integrity of transgender people must be fully guaranteed.

To Danne, her partner, and the GAAT Foundation: know that you are not alone. We stand with you in solidarity and respect, and we reaffirm our commitment to walk alongside you, support your struggles, and raise our voices firmly and consistently.

 

Museo V: Memory, Art, and Resistance Against Gender-Based Violence in Cuba

Washington, D.C., January 27, 2026 — In a context marked by repression and the silencing of gender-based violence in Cuba, the Virtual Museum of Memory Against Gender-Based Violence—known as Museo V—was created in 2022. Led by Cuban journalist and writer María Matienzo, now living in exile in Madrid, the project transcends the traditional museum format to establish itself as a platform for denunciation, reflection, and collective creation, grounded in a feminist, anti-racist, and intersectional perspective.

Museo V initially emerged as a proposal to make political violence in Cuba visible, particularly violence against women and people with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. Over time, the project expanded its scope by incorporating the participation of creators and activists from other countries in the region, as well as the analysis of international contexts through various human rights–focused workshops.

The museum functions as a space for exchange and collective construction. “It is a space where people go to give, to contribute, and to receive information,” explains its director. This work is grounded in a clear political stance: an intersectional and anti-racist approach that runs through all of its actions. “There is no perspective within the museum that is not anti-racist. This is one of the major battles that the people of Cuba and the rest of the world must fight.”

Museo V brings together artists and creators working from geographic, political, and symbolic margins, contributing diverse and critical perspectives. One of the project’s central goals is to insert Cuba into global conversations, breaking the imposed silences around political and gender-based violence that have historically been denied or rendered invisible.

Due to the impossibility of having a physical space on the island, the museum exists exclusively in a virtual format. However, its vocation remains deeply Cuban. “We do not consider ourselves a virtual museum for migration or exile. We consider ourselves a virtual museum for Cuba—a Cuba that needs to return to what it once was culturally: vanguard, revolutionary,” Matienzo states.

The workshop on political violence based on gender, led by attorney Laritza Diversent of the organization Cubalex, holds a central place within Museo V and is one of the contents most highlighted by its director. “This workshop is important because it is, practically, the very reason for the museum’s existence,” Matienzo affirms, underscoring the value of expert voices that today work from exile after being persecuted by the Cuban regime.

At Race and Equality, we highlight initiatives like this that document and narrate the experiences of women and people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. We call on the authoritarian regime in Cuba to guarantee their protection and respect their rights, putting an end to repression and the multiple forms of violence they face—especially when they challenge state policies.

To learn more about this space, visit its website at museov.org and follow its content on social media at @museovbg.

Inter-American Court of Human Rights Condemns the State of Mexico for Sexual Violence by Members of the Mexican Army, Torture, and the Death of Ernestina Ascencio Rosario

The family of Ernestina Ascencio Rosario and their representatives welcome the decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), which, after nearly nineteen years of impunity and denial of justice by the State of Mexico, declared the State internationally responsible for the sexual violence, torture, and death of Ernestina Ascencio Rosario. Ernestina was a 73-year-old monolingual Nahua Indigenous woman who was assaulted in February 2007 by members of the Mexican Army in the Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz.

The IACtHR’s decision is of historic significance, as it marks an important step in addressing the multiple barriers Indigenous women face in accessing justice in contexts of violence and discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, and economic exclusion. The Court held that the violations committed by the State against the victims resulted from institutional violence, structural discrimination, and the violation of the right to the truth, all of which led to impunity for those responsible. The judgment also advances the protection of older persons by recognizing that such protection is reinforced when age intersects with other factors of vulnerability, such as gender and ethnic origin, particularly in militarized contexts, where conditions of violence, exclusion, and structural discrimination are exacerbated.

In addition, the IACtHR reaffirmed the existence of structural obstacles faced by Indigenous peoples and individuals in accessing justice as a result of historical patterns of discrimination, marginalization, and social exclusion, and ordered the State to adopt measures to eliminate those barriers.

Through its systematic analysis of the factors that ensured impunity for those responsible, including public statements by high-level authorities, such as the President of Mexico, the Court made clear how State conduct perpetuated discrimination and impunity and deepened the vulnerability experienced by Ernestina and her family. Accordingly, the Court found that the State engaged in institutional violence against Ernestina Ascencio Rosario and her relatives. This approach to examining State action provides prosecutors and judicial authorities with a methodology to ensure compliance with due process guarantees and to protect victims’ rights, taking into account the specific conditions of vulnerability they face due to ethnicity, gender, and other discriminatory factors.

As a result, the Court ordered the State, among other measures of reparation, to carry out a thorough and serious criminal investigation, within a reasonable timeframe, into the sexual violence, torture, and death of Ernestina, leading to the punishment of those responsible; to adopt measures of satisfaction and rehabilitation, including providing culturally appropriate medical and psychological care to her family members; to make the judgment public and carry out a public act of acknowledgment of international responsibility; and to grant scholarships for basic, technical, and/or university education to Ernestina’s grandchildren who wish to pursue them. The Court also ordered the Mexican State to implement a training and capacity-building program for public officials on the matters addressed in the judgment; to strengthen the health center located in the Municipality of Soledad Atzompa; to adopt measures regarding health and justice with a gender-, ethnic-, and age-sensitive perspective; to address the linguistic barriers faced by Indigenous women in the State of Veracruz; and to develop a national registry of Indigenous-language interpreters. The State must report within one year on its compliance with these measures, and the Court will monitor their implementation until full compliance is achieved.

After learning of the judgment, Martha Inés Ascencio, daughter of Ernestina, stated: “I am very happy because on our own we did not know what we were going to do, and you supported us. Now, with this judgment, we know that they did listen to us. Three months before the 19th anniversary of my mother’s death, today I heard a bit of justice for what we have been fighting for, but the State still needs to comply with what it has been ordered to do.”

According to Patricia Benítez Pérez, coordinator of CESEM, “The IACtHR’s judgment honors the memory of Mrs. Ernestina Ascencio Rosario. The truth that was silenced for 19 years for the Inés Ascencio family has been vindicated before the highest court in the region, which upholds the truth and the words that Ernestina expressed during her lifetime:´Pinomeh xoxomeh nopan omotlatlamotlakeh´ (‘the men in green threw themselves on top of  me.’)”.

For Julia Marcela Suárez Cabrera, representative of AJDH, “the claim we pursued to uncover the truth about the abuses committed against Mrs. Ernestina and her family made it possible for the IACtHR to provide them with justice and to order the State to implement measures of reparation for the victims and guarantees of non-repetition that ensure the rights of Indigenous women in Mexico.”

The representatives of the victims consider that the jurisprudence issued by the Court in this case will be a fundamental tool in the fight against the structural racism that, like in this case, is manifested in the racial discrimination faced by Indigenous women and other historically discriminated groups seeking judicial protection against the violence perpetrated against them.

The judgment comes nearly two decades after the events, following an uninterrupted search for truth, justice, and reparation that yielded no results, and led the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to submit the case to the IACtHR in 2023. The prolonged lack of adequate State responses consolidated, up to the present day, a scenario of impunity and violation of the right to the truth that the Court’s decision seeks to correct, and which reflects the State’s structural failures to fully guarantee the human rights of Indigenous women, particularly the right to a life free from violence and discrimination, the right to a dignified life, and the right to adequate guarantees of access to truth and justice.

The organizations Abogadas y Abogados para la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos (AJDH), Centro de Servicios Municipales Heriberto Jara A.C. (CESEM), Kalli Luz Marina A.C., the Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas (CONAMI), the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, as representatives of the victims, upon being notified of the judgment, formally requested that the Mexican State propose a roadmap for the full implementation of the ruling. This provides the State with an opportunity to honor its commitment in declaring 2025 the “Year of Indigenous Women” by fully complying with the judgment without further delay.

Press Contacts:

Abogadas y Abogados para la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos (AJDH)

Press Contact: Carmen Herrera, justiciayderechoshumanos2006@gmail.com, Whatsapp: +52 55 4347 6669 

Centro de Servicios Municipales Heriberto Jara A.C. (CESEM)

Press Contact:  Alejandra Arlet García López, centrohj@gmail.com, Whatsapp: +52 228 177 3127 

Kalli Luz Marina A.C.

Press Contact: Elizabeth Guevara Mitzi, kallilegal23@gmail.com 

Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas (CONAMI)​

Press Contact: Patricia Torres Sandoval and Norma Don Juan Pérez,  mujeresindigenasconami@gmail.com WhatsApp: +52 55 2407 8827

Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center

Press Contact: Angelita Baeyens, baeyens@rfkhumanrights.org

International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights

Press Contact: Christina M. Fetterhoff, fetterhoff@raceandequality.org 

 

“We are still alive in an endless abyss”: Three Cuban Activists One Month After Hurricane Melissa

Washington DC, November 29, 2025 – One month ago today, Hurricane Melissa swept through eastern Cuba, leaving destruction, anguish, and a worsening situation for the region’s inhabitants in its wake. We spoke with three activists who, in addition to facing the impact of the cyclone, are surviving state abandonment, political harassment, and the collapse of basic services. From the province of Holguín, Ronald Mendoza (50), Eduardo Cardet (57), and Geydis Jaime (24) recount how they experienced the disaster and how the humanitarian emergency is deepening on an island mired in a social, political, economic, and health crisis. 

On October 29, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba as one of the strongest storms of the 2025 hurricane season (June to November), causing severe flooding, structural damage, and the collapse of essential services. Although no deaths were reported in Cuba, the damage deepened the vulnerability of communities already suffering from shortages. According to the United Nations mission in Cuba, Melissa left more than 3.5 million people homeless, 90,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and around 10,000 hectares of crops damaged.

The impact of the cyclone and the lack of aid

In Levisa, a town in the municipality of Mayarí (part of Holguín), Ronald Mendoza recounts: “We lost most of our belongings (during the natural disaster).” He says that when the cyclone reached its peak, he “was hiding under the sink.” The roof of his house was blown off and the overflowing river flooded his home: “The water reached my belly button.” A month later, he says that “aid is minimal” and that they have only received some basic supplies. “We are still standing thanks to the help of our neighbors,” he adds.

In Velasco, another town in Holguín, doctor and activist Eduardo Cardet experienced an unprecedented night. “The water had never reached those levels before. The Paneque River rose considerably. In my house, it reached two meters,” he says. He and his family lost almost everything. “You always regret material losses because they are very difficult to recover,” he says, adding that the little help he has received has come from the community and the Catholic Church. 

In the city of Holguín, Geydis Jaime says that “it was the first time” she had seen anything like this (the force of Hurricane Melissa). “The water came into the house and I lost mattresses, clothes, a television, a refrigerator, and even my phone,” she adds. During the emergency, the power lines collapsed and “neighborhood residents had to fix them” because no authorities responded. “Here, the power goes out every six hours and no one has offered us any help,” she says. 

Harassment and surveillance amid disaster

Repression adds to the devastation. Two days before this interview (on November 13), for example, a man showed up at Cardet’s home to demand that he stop denouncing the serious health situation in Cuba. The national coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), who was imprisoned for political reasons between 2016 and 2019, says that on several occasions he has been advised to leave the island, proposals that he has rejected.

Mendoza, regional coordinator of the Center for Leadership and Development Studies (CELIDE), and Jaime, a member of the Women’s Platform organization, also report constant harassment and threats. “In the past, I have looked for work and been denied. They tell me: there is only work for revolutionaries,” denounces Ronald, who before the hurricane sold honey and lost most of his beehives after the emergency.

An out-of-control epidemiological crisis

The health situation is aggravated by diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, contaminated water, and food spoiled by the lack of electricity. According to Francisco Durán, head of epidemiology at the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap), 47,000 Cuban residents have been diagnosed this week with a virus that is stalking the island, although doctors, activists, and communities point out that the underreporting is much higher and that there are more sick people who do not appear in the official data.

Cardet warns that there are cases of dengue, Zika, chikungunya, Oropouche, and other diseases, and that “there are people who have died and thousands who are sick.” He himself recently reported (on November 24) that he is also ill with one of these viruses. Geydis and her mother (aged 54), meanwhile, have fallen ill before and after the cyclone, in an area that, she says, has been without water for up to seven months.

Power cuts are constant and some areas have been without electricity since the hurricane struck. Families cook with charcoal, store food in the homes of acquaintances, and live in anticipation of the few hours when the power returns. 

Cardet says something that perhaps best sums up this moment: “We are plunged into an endless abyss.” And yet, despite everything, the three remain in Cuba. They continue to speak out. They continue to resist. They continue to live.

At Race and Equality, we continue to monitor the situation in Cuba and accompany activists and human rights defenders who face increasing risks in this context. We call on international organizations, governments, and civil society organizations to keep their attention on the island, demand guarantees for fundamental rights, and support those who work for freedom, justice, and dignity in Cuba.



Cuban organization Ladies in White denounces violence perpetrated by Cuba’s authoritarian regime before the IACHR

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.



Freedom with exile: the case of Cuban activist Aymara Nieto

Washington, D.C., November 11, 2025 – Three months ago today, Aymara Nieto Muñoz began rebuilding her life in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where she has been living since August 11, 2025, after being released and exiled along with her husband, Ismael Boris, and two of her daughters. After more than seven years of political imprisonment in Cuba, the 49-year-old activist, a member of the Ladies in White and the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), is trying to adapt to a new reality far from the island.

“We have been very well received in Santo Domingo. I am very grateful. We (Aymara and her family) have already done a series of interviews to regularize our immigration status and be able to work. My daughters are already in school, thanks to the support of the Cuban Association in the Dominican Republic and the government of this country,“ says Nieto, who retains the optimism and faith that accompanied her during the hardest years of her imprisonment. ”My greatest treasure in prison was a Bible that my eldest daughter gave me. It gave me the strength to endure,” she confesses.

Aymara was arrested on May 6, 2018, as she was leaving her home to participate in a peaceful demonstration organized by the Todos Marchamos campaign, which demanded the release of people imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba. She was convicted of the alleged crimes of assault and damage to property and sentenced to four years in prison, which she began serving in the El Guatao women’s prison in Havana.

However, while she was serving that sentence, the authoritarian Cuban regime prosecuted her again, this time for allegedly leading a riot inside the prison. The new trial ended with a second sentence of five years and four months, imposed without judicial guarantees or the right to an effective defense. Thus, Aymara spent more than seven consecutive years in prison, enduring punishments, transfers, and degrading conditions.

Since 2013, Aymara Nieto has been the beneficiary of precautionary measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). At Race and Equality, we have consistently denounced the violations of her rights and the inhumane conditions of her imprisonment. Her story is part of the report “Voices in Freedom: Women Political Prisoners in Cuba” and the documentary “Dos Patrias” (Two Homelands), produced in collaboration with Producciones La Tiorba, which portrays the repression, imprisonment, and silencing of three Cuban activists.

From her new place of residence, where she arrived without being able to say goodbye to her eldest daughter because the authorities denied her a final visit, Aymara dreams of studying psychology. “I would like to be a psychologist and help other people. I also want my daughters to be good women,“ she adds. Although she is far from the island, she remains committed to the peaceful struggle. ”The situation in my country hurts me deeply, but I will continue working and fighting for Cuba’s freedom, even from a distance,” she says. 

The Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights celebrates Aymara Nieto’s freedom and recognizes her strength and dignity after years of repression. At the same time, we condemn her forced exile, a systematic practice of the Cuban regime to punish dissent and silence voices that defend human rights.

We demand that the Cuban government put an end to these practices that violate international law, and we call on international organizations and democratic states to demand respect for human rights in Cuba, including the immediate and unconditional release of Sissi Abascal, Felix Navarro, Saylí Navarro, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Lisandra Góngora, Maykel Castillo, and all those still imprisoned for political reasons.



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