Eight years after the beginning of the crisis in Nicaragua: a reality that persists and demands sustained action

Eight years after the beginning of the crisis in Nicaragua: a reality that persists and demands sustained action

Washington, D.C., April 17, 2026.– Eight years after the beginning of the human rights crisis in Nicaragua, from the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) we reiterate that this is not a memory that can erase time: it is a reality that has been transformed, deepened and that continues to affect the lives of thousands of people inside and outside the country.

Since April 2018, the country has gone through a sustained process of repression that has evolved over time. What began as a violent response to social protests has been consolidated into a system of control that restricts fundamental freedoms, punishes dissent and has completely closed civic space.

At Race and Equality we have been following this crisis since its inception, carrying out documentation actions aimed at strategic litigation before the Inter-American and Universal Human Rights Systems, as well as advocacy before diplomatic delegations and international human rights mechanisms. And today, we ask ourselves: What do these eight years mean?

They mean eight years of political persecution and continuous repression, in which visible violence has been replaced by more sophisticated mechanisms of surveillance and control. Eight years of imposed silence, where exercising freedom of expression implies real risks of criminalization and imprisonment. Eight years of exile and forced exile, which have fractured entire families and communities. Eight years of impunity, in which the victims of serious human rights violations continue to wait for truth, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition.

In this period, the political persecution of the dictatorship has expanded beyond Nicaragua’s borders, affecting human rights defenders, journalists, and activists in exile through acts of transnational repression. Added to this are the continuous attacks against Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants, restrictions on religious freedom and the systematic closure of civil society organizations and restrictions incompatible with freedom of association.

The situation in Nicaragua continues to be addressed in different international forums; however, the challenge remains to sustain attention and response commensurate with the severity and prolongation of the crisis. The risk, in this context, is that its continuity will contribute to a dangerous normalization if efforts to ensure accountability to a regime that has committed – and continues to commit – crimes against humanity against its own people are not consolidated.

We believe that despite these challenges, the persistence of Nicaraguan civil society, inside and outside the country, as well as the sustained work of international human rights mechanisms, demonstrate that this crisis continues to be documented, denounced and accompanied. These efforts are critical and must continue.

In this context, Race and Equality makes an urgent call to the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations, as well as other actors in the international community, to maintain and strengthen attention on Nicaragua and to adopt concrete and sustained actions that contribute to accountability.  in application of the collective guarantee of human rights, ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

In particular, we urge:

  • Promote firm resolutions within the framework of the OAS that recognize the persistence of serious human rights violations and demand concrete actions from the Nicaraguan State.
  • Strengthen and support international monitoring and investigation mechanisms, including the work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and other independent mechanisms, guaranteeing the necessary resources for their continuity.
  • Adopt measures of diplomatic pressure and targeted individual sanctions, targeting those responsible for serious human rights violations, in accordance with international law.
  • Strengthen the protection of Nicaraguans in exile, including guarantees of non-refoulement, access to specific international protection mechanisms, and recognition of their status at risk.
  • Advance actions of international accountability, including the referral of Nicaragua to the International Court of Justice for violations of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the Convention against Torture.
  • Maintain Nicaragua as a priority on the international agenda, avoiding its displacement by other global crises that also require attention.
  • Recognize, investigate, prosecute, and punish acts of transnational repression committed against Nicaraguans in exile, guaranteeing their protection and effective access to justice.

We also urge international human rights protection mechanisms to maintain and strengthen active monitoring of the situation, as well as to continue creating spaces that make the voices of victims and Nicaraguan civil society visible.

Eight years after the beginning of the crisis, Nicaragua cannot be treated as just another case. The persistence of grave and systematic violations requires proportionate, coordinated and effective responses on the part of the international community.

On this anniversary we remember all the victims of repression, we denounce that the crisis continues and we express our firm conviction that sustained actions can make a difference.

Eight years later, silence is not an option. Because the prolonged crisis that Nicaragua is experiencing and a sector of the population persecuted locally and even beyond its borders continues to claim victims, and therefore, it must be confronted with decisive and sustained actions that lead Nicaragua to regain its freedom.

The Long Cuban Night, a documentary on repression in Cuba, premieres Saturday, April 11 at the Miami Film Festival

Washington, D.C., April 7, 2026 – The Long Cuban Night (2026, 100 min.), the first feature-length documentary by Cuban director and sound designer Sergio Fernández Borrás, will have its world premiere at the 43rd Miami Film Festival (MFF), taking place from April 9 to 19. The screening is scheduled for Saturday the 11th at 5:45 p.m. at Silverspot Cinema, Room 13, where it will also compete for the Documentary Achievement Award.

The film arrives at a pivotal moment for Cuba, marked by the intensification of state repression and the deterioration of living conditions on the island. In this context, Race and Equality supported part of the production of this documentary, reaffirming its commitment to the promotion of human rights and freedom of expression. Through a powerful and deeply immersive aesthetic approach, the film constructs a narrative that places surveillance, harassment, and the criminalization of dissent at its center.

Co-produced in Spain (Free Media), Cuba (Uranio Films), and Colombia (Casatarantula), and distributed by Habanero Films, the documentary is built entirely from archival material, including internet livestreams, cellphone recordings, and television broadcasts. Created over four years and conceived entirely in vertical format, the film embraces an aesthetic consistent with the devices used to capture these events, reinforcing its immediacy and testimonial character. This approach allows for the reconstruction, from within and without mediation, of some of the most significant episodes of recent repression in Cuba.

These include the harassment and imprisonment of rapper Denis Solís in 2020; the actions led by artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and the San Isidro Movement demanding his release; as well as the police siege against this independent creative space. The documentary also captures the events that followed, including the November 27 protest, the January 27 demonstrations, and the social uprising of July 11, 2021, as well as the arrests of figures such as Otero Alcántara and musician Maykel Osorbo.

Rather than adopting an expository or didactic tone, Fernández Borrás creates a sensory experience that avoids traditional chronology or a historicist recounting of events. The film unfolds as a sequence of fragments that, taken together, reveal the intensity of state surveillance and the fragility of spaces of freedom on the island.

“As a living archive, the film portrays a community of artists, activists, and citizens who decided to say ‘enough’ in the face of abuse of power. More than documenting a conflict, The Long Cuban Night addresses one of the most important moments in Cuba’s recent history: the beginning of a civic awakening marked by dignity, collective strength, and an urgent need for freedom,” said Sergio.

One of the most notable aspects of The Long Cuban Night is its ability to capture the everyday dimension of repression. It is not only about major events, but also about the persistent sense of surveillance, the fear that permeates daily life, and the resistance that emerges within this context. The film thus positions itself at the intersection of political cinema and living archive, where images not only document, but also challenge.

The premiere of The Long Cuban Night at the Miami Film Festival not only represents a milestone for Latin American documentary filmmaking, but also an opportunity to amplify the voices of those who have been silenced on the island. In a context where censorship and persecution severely restrict the exercise of fundamental freedoms, cinema becomes a powerful tool for memory, denunciation, and justice.

Race and Equality celebrates the screening of this documentary, which portrays repression on the island, a situation that has worsened significantly in recent months due to power outages, shortages of food and medicine, and growing social unrest. From Race and Equality, we will continue to monitor the situation in Cuba and denounce the deep crisis affecting the country, reiterating our call on the international community to maintain attention on Cuba and demand full respect for human rights.



Activists from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela denounce transnational repression in exile before the IACHR

Guatemala City, March 16, 2025. Transnational repression carried out by the dictatorships of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela is a reality. This became evident during the regional hearing “Situation of Transnational Repression,” held last Thursday, March 12, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Guatemala City, within the framework of the 195th session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), Cubalex, the Association for Legal Defense, Registry and Memory for Nicaragua, the World Organisation Against Torture, and the Virtual Museum Against Gender-Based Violence in Cuba participated in this space for dialogue, accompanying three activists from these countries who have faced acts of transnational repression in exile: Cuban activist Kirenia Yalit Núñez, director of the Cuban Youth Dialogue Table; Nicaraguan activist Claudia Vargas, widow of activist Roberto Samcam and member of the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress; and Venezuelan activist Luis Peche, director of the organization Sala 58.

During the hearing, they denounced murders, attempted homicides, persecution, and harassment in the countries where they have sought refuge after being forced into exile due to repression by the authoritarian regimes in their countries of origin.

Claudia Vargas warned that the Nicaraguan regime continues to persecute opposition figures even outside its territory. “The regime’s persecution does not end when we cross the border. On the contrary, it transforms, expands, and reaches us even where we seek refuge,” she said. She also denounced the arbitrary deprivation of nationality affecting more than 450 people, which has resulted in the annulment of documents, academic records, pensions, and property.

She also recalled that at least five murders of Nicaraguan opposition figures in exile have already been documented, including the killing of campesino leader Jaime Luis Ortega in Costa Rica in 2024 and that of her husband, Roberto Samcam, a former major in the Nicaraguan Army and political analyst who was murdered in San José in June 2025. “His assassination represented a message directed at the exile community: an attempt to silence us and a demonstration of power beyond borders,” she stated.

“In the face of this serious problem, it is urgent that states in the region, especially host countries, recognize the fight against this form of persecution as part of their international protection obligations,” Vargas added.

For his part, Luis Peche explained that he was forced to leave Venezuela in 2025 following the increase in political persecution after the electoral process. The activist reported that he was the victim of an assassination attempt in Bogotá in October last year, when armed men opened fire on him and on human rights defender Yendri Velásquez. Peche received six gunshot wounds and Velásquez eight. Both survived the attack and are currently out of danger. “This fear is not abstract; it is concrete and persistent. It is part of a regional pattern of transnational repression that seeks to silence those of us who denounce these abuses,” he said.

From Cuba, Kirenia Yalit Núñez denounced that the Cuban regime has developed mechanisms of extraterritorial persecution against activists and journalists in exile. She recounted that she has faced numerous incidents of harassment in different countries, including acts of intimidation, surveillance, and migration-related obstacles. “The Cuban regime projects its intimidation beyond its borders to silence those of us who continue to denounce human rights violations from exile,” she said.

During the hearing, Cuban lawyer Laritza Diversent, director of the organization Cubalex, also participated. She warned that transnational repression seeks to silence critical voices even outside their countries of origin. Diversent urged the IACHR to recognize and systematically monitor this phenomenon, strengthen protection mechanisms for exiled individuals—especially in host countries such as Costa Rica, Colombia, and the United States—and promote coordinated regional responses to the extraterritorial expansion of political persecution.

She also called on the Commission, as it has done in other countries in the region, to establish a specific mechanism to monitor the humanitarian crisis and serious human rights violations in Cuba, in order to document these patterns and strengthen international accountability mechanisms.

During the hearing, the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN) and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela participated jointly for the first time. These bodies noted that transnational repression is a real phenomenon affecting opposition figures and human rights defenders from Nicaragua and Venezuela, and emphasized the importance of continuing to investigate and document these patterns of persecution beyond national borders.

Race and Equality will continue to monitor and denounce the human rights violations suffered by activists and defenders from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. We reiterate the need for states in the region to strengthen protection measures for exiled individuals and to ensure effective investigations into acts of transnational persecution, as well as coordinated regional responses to this phenomenon.

Organizations denounce invisibility and structural discrimination against Roma peoples in the region in historic hearing before the IACHR 

Guatemala City, March 12, 2026.– Organizations that promote and defend the rights of the Roma population in the Americas, especially in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and the United States, appeared before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during its 195th Session, held from March 9 to 12 in Guatemala City, to present the human rights situation faced by this population in the region. 

The hearing—which was convened ex officio and included the participation of 13 civil society organizations, including the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality)—was historic as it was the first in the history of the IACHR dedicated exclusively to addressing the human rights situation of Roma peoples and communities, also known as Gypsies, Romani, or Rom. 

During the session, representatives of organizations from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Canada, and the United States warned of the persistent invisibility, structural racism, violence, and barriers that Roma people face in accessing fundamental rights such as health, education, and justice. They also denounced the lack of official data, specific public policies, and state measures to combat anti-Gypsyism in the region.  

Among the notable interventions was that of Elisa Costa, from the Maylê Sara Kalí International Association (AMSK) in Brazil, who warned of the disproportionate impact of discrimination and violence on Romani women. 

“I start from a non-negotiable principle: human rights are indivisible. Violence disproportionately affects the Roma people, especially women, children, and the elderly,” Costa said. 

The activist explained that, in the absence of comprehensive official statistics, her organization has worked with microdata from public policies to assess the vulnerability faced by these communities. She said that as of 2025, at least 3,417 Roma children between the ages of 0 and 4 have been registered as being in a situation of extreme social vulnerability in Brazil, a situation that also reflects the precariousness faced by their mothers and families. 

Costa explained that the available data reveal a critical concentration of this population in vulnerable conditions in a few states of the country and warned that Roma women are particularly affected throughout their life cycle. He also pointed out that many reports of violence occur in extended family contexts, which requires culturally appropriate state responses that currently do not exist. 

In this context, she stressed that Romaphobia and anti-Gypsyism must be recognized as expressions of structural racism in Brazil and in the region, and urged states to adopt measures to combat these forms of discrimination. 

Among her recommendations to the IACHR, Costa called for the recognition of August 2 as Roma Holocaust Day, the promotion of affirmative action campaigns against anti-Gypsyism, and support for historical memory initiatives such as the Map of Romani Memory in the Americas. 

For his part, Damián Cristo, from the Association for the Rights of the Gypsy/Romani People (ZOR) of Argentina, warned of the multiple obstacles faced by this population in fully exercising their rights. “Access to health care for our families is almost impossible,” he said during his speech. 

Cristo explained that the situation of Roma communities in Argentina is marked by statistical invisibility, difficulties in accessing health services, barriers to justice, school dropout rates, and a lack of targeted public policies. 

In terms of education, he warned that the Argentine school system has failed to fully integrate Roma children and young people, who face high levels of school dropout, in many cases linked to the lack of content that respects their cultural identity and to situations of harassment based on their ethnic origin. 

He also stressed the importance of the right to memory and called on the Argentine State to officially recognize August 2 as the Day of Remembrance of the Gypsy Holocaust, as well as to promote the recognition of April 8 as International Roma Day. 

Representatives of various organizations in the region also spoke during the hearing. Rogério Ribeiro, from the Brazilian Network of Gypsy Peoples, referred to recent cases of violence that have affected Roma communities in northeastern Brazil. Daiane Rocha, from the National Association of Gypsy Ethnic Groups of Brazil (ANEC), expressed her gratitude for this space for dialogue to highlight the difficulties faced by these communities in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

From Colombia, Ana Dalila Gómez Baos, from the Kumpania Rrom organization in Bogotá, highlighted some progress in the recognition of the rights of the Rrom people in the country, although she pointed out that more action is still needed to combat discrimination and guarantee the full exercise of their rights. 

Similarly, Deny Dobrov, Director of International Relations for the World Roma Federation, warned that Roma communities also face structural discrimination in the United States, which often remains hidden because many Roma people choose to conceal their identity to avoid stigma and stereotypes. He explained that the limited public recognition of Roma as an ethnic minority in that country contributes to perpetuating anti-Roma narratives that influence social perceptions and institutions. 

Dobrov also expressed concern about the persistence of anti-Roma stereotypes in some law enforcement training materials and in investigative contexts, which could encourage ethnic profiling practices. In this context, he urged States to explicitly recognize Roma communities in anti-racism policies, strengthen collaboration with Roma-led organizations, and promote secure self-identification mechanisms that enable the design of more effective public policies.  

Representatives of the international human rights system also participated in the session. Claude Cahn, Human Rights Officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), referred to the difficulties in adequately documenting the violence affecting this population.  

At the close of the hearing, the IACHR commissioners recognized the historical importance of this space. Commissioner Gloria de Mees, rapporteur on the rights of people of African descent and against racial discrimination, noted that the Romani people have remained invisible despite their contributions to society, while Commissioner Marion Bethel, rapporteur on women’s rights, expressed concern about the forms of gender-based violence that particularly affect Romani women. 

After the hearing, the IACHR thanked the organizations for their participation and reaffirmed its commitment to listen to and give visibility to the voices of Roma peoples in the region, highlighting that these communities have faced historical and intergenerational discrimination. It also stressed the importance of States including this population in national censuses and using the data collected to develop public policies that respond to their needs and guarantee their rights. 

The hearing marked a significant step toward raising awareness of the situation of Roma peoples in the Americas and advancing the recognition of their rights in the inter-American human rights system. At Race and Equality, we highlight the importance of this historic moment and reiterate our commitment to continue accompanying Roma communities and organizations in the region in their efforts to raise awareness of the structural discrimination they face and promote the recognition and effective protection of their human rights.  

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.

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