Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, February 21, 2023

THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CUBAN RESISTANCE ASKS THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO INCLUDE CASTRO REGIME’S MASS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE LIST OF SPONSORS OF TERRORISM

Miami, Florida—February 21, 2023—The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance—Today, the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC) held a press conference to make public a letter to the Secretary of State Antony Blinken where they ask the Biden administration to include several mass organizations of the Castro regime in the list of sponsors of terrorism. The ARC also announced that its National Convention will take place on Saturday, February 25, 2023, at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora (1200 Coral Way, Miami, Florida 33145).

The regime’s organizations are Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos (ICAP), the Comités de Defensa de la Revolución (CDR), the Federación de Mujeres Cubanas (FMC), the Asociación Nacional de Agricultores Pequeños (ANAP), and the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC).

In the letter, the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance explained that the CDR, FMC, ANAP, and CTC have increasingly participated in acts of terror and human rights violations against Cuban citizens since July 11, 2021. For instance, the regime has used local representatives of these State organizations as false witnesses for the prosecution of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators and their mission is to be the first point of contact of Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida (Rapid Action Brigades) to identify and repress protesters.

Two of the leaders of these State organizations (Gerardo Hernández Nordelo and Fernando González Llort) have already been sentenced in the United States for espionage and were instrumental in the massacre of American citizens in 1996.

The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance also showed concern for the deepening alliance of the Castro regime with Putin, and what this could mean for security in the region.

At its National Convention, the ARC will make public a National Salvation Plan (Plan de Salvación Nacional) drafted by human rights and pro-democracies organizations inside and outside Cuba. Political leaders of Latin America, the United States, and Europe will participate to support Cuban civil society’s campaigns (like the General Strike and the 3×3 initiative).
 
Letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken:

February 21, 2023
 
 
The Honorable Antony Blinken
Secretary
U.S. Department of State
2201 C St., NW
Washington, DC 20520
 
 
Dear Secretary Blinken:
 
We, the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, a coalition of organizations inside and outside Cuba, are writing to you to request that the Department of State designate the Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos (ICAP), the Comités de Defensa de la Revolución (CDR), the Federación de Mujeres Cubanas (FMC), the Asociación Nacional de Agricultores Pequeños (ANAP), and the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC) to the list of terrorist organizations controlled by the Cuban regime.

In 2021, the United States sanctioned the heads of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT) and the Tropas de Prevención (TDP) of the Cuban Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR). On July 30, 2021, President Biden stated that the United States would impose more sanctions against repressive Cuban institutions if the regime continued to violate human rights to suppress peaceful, pro-democratic protests.

Since July 11, 2021, the regime has used local representatives of the CDR, FMC, ANAP, and CTC to identify and repress protesters. They function as the first point of contact of Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida (Rapid Action Brigades) to find more information about citizens in a specific area. Their role in recent waves of repression is best exemplified by their participation in trials against July 11 protesters as the only citizens (beside police and military agents) allowed as witnesses for the prosecution. Their false testimonies sent hundreds of peaceful demonstrators to prison. Gerardo Hernández Nordelo—head of the WASP Network, instrumental in the massacre carried out against US citizens in international air space on February 24, 1996, and who served a 16-year sentence in the United States for espionage—is the current national coordinator of the CDR.

The ICAP—led by Fernando González Llort, who served a 15-year sentence in the United States for espionage—has been used as a platform to support State Terrorism activities and intelligence gathering inside and outside Cuba. The ICAP often arranges and hosts meetings with the governments of Syria, Iran, and Russia and coordinates activities with organizations from these countries. In addition, the ICAP directly controls ‘groups of solidarity’ outside of Cuba that organize violent ‘acts of repudiation’ against Cubans abroad and it monitors Cuban citizens who are living in other countries. 

We are concerned about Russia’s growing presence in Cuba, which threatens the safety of the United States, as well as that of Cuban citizens. The Castro regime and the Security Council of Russia have had a Memorandum on Security Cooperation since 2014. Since then, the Castro regime has supported the war in Ukraine at the United Nations, has renegotiated its 2.3-billion-dollar debt with Putin, and has recently approved that Russians take over businesses in key areas of the Cuban economy, like a sugar mill in Sancti Spiritus.

A significant presence of Russian engineers and specialists in our region should be of great concern to democratic countries in the Western world. Cuban organizations that support, host, and promote the ideology and work of States that perpetrate terrorism acts inside and outside their borders should be sanctioned by the Department of the Treasury and Cuba should not be eliminated from the list of States Sponsors of Terrorism.