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

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.



We denounce the dismantling of a fence in Santa Marta that demanded freedom for political prisoners in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela

Santa Marta, November 8, 2025 — Race and Equality denounces the censorship exercised by the local authorities of Santa Marta, who on Friday, November 7, ordered the removal of a billboard installed by our organization outside Simón Bolívar International Airport. The billboard demanded the release of political prisoners in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, in the context of the IV CELAC-EU Summit.

The billboard bore the message: “Every person imprisoned for defending human rights in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela represents a broken promise of democracy. How long will this continue?”

Accompanied by the image of an imprisoned man and the flags of the three countries, the billboard sought to remind representatives of the member states of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) meeting in Santa Marta of the urgent need to address the lack of democracy in the region. However, it was dismantled in less than 24 hours by order of the Mayor’s Office of Santa Marta, in compliance with supposed guidelines prohibiting the display of messages “of political content” during the summit.

This decision violates our right to freedom of expression and limits the possibility of denouncing human rights violations in these three countries, precisely in a space that presents itself as a forum for dialogue on democracy, cooperation, and human rights.

In 2023, a similar incident occurred in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when, on the eve of the CELAC Summit, a billboard installed by our organization demanding the restoration of democracy in Cuba and Nicaragua was also removed.

The IV CELAC-EU Summit, held from November 7 to 10 in Santa Marta, addresses key issues such as the triple transition (energy, digital, and environmental), gender equality, food security, and the strengthening of bi-regional cooperation. All this is happening while Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela continue to be marked by repression and the imprisonment of those who defend human rights.

Until the end of October 2025 alone, civil society organizations had documented 749 political prisoners in Cuba (according to Justicia 11J), 77 in Nicaragua (Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners), and 875 in Venezuela (Foro Penal). These figures reflect the magnitude of the closure of democratic spaces and the persistence of serious human rights violations.

Similarly, in a recent resolution on the Union’s political strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean, the European Parliament reaffirmed the importance of bi-regional cooperation and condemned the weakening of democracy in these three countries, which it described as some of the most authoritarian regimes in the world.

At Race and Equality, we denounce this censorship and reaffirm our commitment to freedom of expression, justice, and democracy. We will continue to call on the international community to denounce human rights violations in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and to ensure the restoration of democracy in these countries.



MUDE, a shelter threatened for defending the rights of black women and children in Palmira, Colombia

Bogotá, October 20, 2025 – On July 15, 2024, members of the Movimiento de mujeres unidas, diversas y emancipadas (MUDE, by its initials in Spanish) reported that, in the early hours of the morning, several people violently entered the house where the organization’s headquarters were located, in the municipality of Palmira, Valle del Cauca. Through their social media accounts, they made public how computers were destroyed, along with the shelter of more than 300 people, including children, adolescents, and black and diverse women from this region of Colombia who are beneficiaries of MUDE. 

That day, the women of this organization felt that the “last straw had been drawn,” after years of threats, harassment, acts of racism, transphobia, and hate campaigns spread through social media. They were left with a clear message: if they continue to do this work, their lives are in danger.

A year after the raid, the events remain unpunished and the members of MUDE continue to denounce what happened and demand recognition and guarantees of their rights in this area of the Colombian Pacific. “We continue to call on the authorities and other organizations to listen to us and respond to our demands. We want to know that we have support, that our lives matter, that people care about what happens to MUDE, to children, and to diversity,” says María Camilia Saa, a member of the organization. 

The Movimiento de mujeres unidas, diversas y emancipadas was founded in 2019 and, since then, has accompanied and transformed the lives of more than 6,000 children, adolescents, women of African descent, and diverse women, along with their families, in Palmira and other municipalities in Valle del Cauca. Sady Carreazo, another member, affirms that MUDE is a space for “collectivization.” 

“Coming together guarantees the lives of Black people; it is another way in which we can be and live in freedom. It is another opportunity to study, work, be, and express ourselves,” adds Carreazo. The organization promotes advocacy, training, and visibility strategies with an ethnic and diverse focus through art and music. One example of this is MUDE’s Agojie group, whose songs address issues such as Afro hair, feminism, and sexual and gender dissidence.

Following the attack, MUDE was forced to relocate its headquarters to another area of Palmira, while its members continue to report ongoing threats and harassment due to their diverse identities and their work defending the rights of their communities.

From the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) expresses its support for MUDE and reiterates its urgent call on the competent authorities to act diligently, guarantee the protection of its members, and ensure that acts such as these do not go unpunished. Defending the lives, diversity, and leadership of Black and diverse women is an inescapable responsibility of the Colombian state.



“The struggle continues inside and outside Cuba”: José Daniel Ferrer, after his forced exile in the US

Washington D.C., October 16, 2025 – That was one of the statements made by José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), after arriving in Miami, United States, together with his wife, the doctor and activist Nelva Ortega, and three of his children, after being forced into exile. Ferrer’s departure was officially announced by the Cuban Foreign Ministry, which specified that his transfer, along with his family, was the result of a “formal request” from the U.S. government and the “express acceptance” of the Cuban activist. 

The human rights defender, who regained his freedom on Monday, October 13, said he had “mixed emotions” as he celebrated his reunion with part of his family, but lamented the situation of dozens of activists who remain imprisoned in Cuba. “It is a very difficult and sad moment because there are other brothers and sisters in Cuba who are surviving in terrible conditions in the worst prisons in the Western Hemisphere: Félix Navarro, Saylí Navarro, Sissi Abascal, Luis Manuel Otero, Maykel Castillo, Lisandra Góngora; there are many throughout the country,” he said.

Ferrer, 55, is one of Cuba’s most renowned activists. He was one of the 75 prisoners of conscience convicted during the Black Spring of 2003 and, since then, has been subjected to repeated arrests, torture, and arbitrary judicial proceedings. He participated in the demonstrations on July 11, 2021, after which he was arbitrarily detained and, in January of this year, released on parole. However, on April 29, 2025, he was again imprisoned in Mar Verde prison, where he reported beatings, torture, and threats against his family.

In a letter written from that prison and released on October 3, Ferrer warned that he was at the limit of what he could endure and that he was willing to accept forced exile to protect his life and that of his family. At Race and Equality, we have repeatedly denounced the serious violations of his human rights and the inhumane conditions of his imprisonment to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), as his legal representatives, reason why he is the beneficiary of protective measures.

We celebrate that José Daniel Ferrer and his family are safe today, but we condemn that his freedom was dependent upon forced exile, a practice that violates fundamental rights and that the Cuban state has used to silence critical voices. This same strategy was recently imposed on activist Aymara Nieto, a member of the Ladies in White, who was released in August 2025 on the condition that she leave the island. At Race and Equality, we reiterate our commitment to defending those persecuted for political reasons in Cuba and call on the international community to demand an end to repression, arbitrary imprisonment, and the forced exile of Cuban dissidents.

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