FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CFC  Delivers Urgent Petition Signed by Cuban-Americans, Academics, Diplomats, and Human Rights Leaders Calling for Release of 1200+ Cuban Political Prisoners

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 8, 2026 – The Center for a Free Cuba (CFC) today transmitted an urgent petition to four world leaders with direct influence over the Cuban regime: President Donald J. Trump of the United States, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and the Holy See, European Union High Representative Kaja Kallas, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The petition—signed by a distinguished coalition of over 100 Cuban-Americans, academics, former diplomats, opposition leaders, and human rights defenders—requests the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, full access to Cuban prisons for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and independent monitors, and an end to the regime’s routine use of torture, inhumane conditions, and the criminalization of nonviolent dissent. The Center is now awaiting responses from the recipients. Prominent signers include:

• Carlos Eire, Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University and acclaimed author;

• Miriam de la Peña, prominent activist and mother of Mario de la Peña, one of the four Brothers to the Rescue pilots murdered by Cuban MiG fighters in 1996;

• Ambassador Everett Ellis Briggs, Cuba-born retired U.S. Foreign Service officer;

• Carl Gershman, President Emeritus, National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

• Miriam Kornblith, Senior Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the NED;

• Ambassador Andras Simonyi, former Hungarian Ambassador to the United States and to NATO;

• Anamely Ramos González, Cuban art historian, curator, professor, and human rights activist.

• Father Alberto Reyes, Cuban Catholic priest and outspoken advocate for religious freedom;

• Raimet Martinez Avila, Pro-democracy activist, coordinator, Cuban-Canadian Coalition

The petition was prompted by the Cuban dictatorship’s early April 2026 announcement of a so-called “humanitarian” pardon and release of over 2,010 prisoners. Independent monitors, including Prisoners Defenders, Cubalex, and the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights, confirm that virtually all those freed were common criminals.

More than 1,200 political prisoners and prisoners of conscience—individuals charged with exercising their basic rights—were deliberately excluded and remain behind bars. Conditions inside Cuba’s prisons are dire: prolonged solitary confinement, denial of medical care, torture, starvation rations, and abysmal sanitation. Havana has blocked ICRC prison visits since 1989. Families of the detained face constant harassment. The petition spotlights ten emblematic cases, among them:

• Artist and San Isidro Movement leader Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, jailed since July 2021 and now on hunger strike;

• Grammy-winning musician Maykel “Osorbo” Castillo Pérez, co-author of the global protest anthem “Patria y Vida,” serving a nine-year sentence and in failing health;

• Veteran opposition leader Félix Navarro Rodríguez and his daughter Sayli Navarro Álvarez;

• Journalist José Gabriel Barrenechea, sentenced to six years in prison for a peaceful protest.

“These men and women are imprisoned solely for peacefully demanding freedom and democracy,” the petition states. “Their release would constitute verifiable humanitarian progress and could open the door to any future consideration of sanctions relief or normalized relations.”

Guillermo Marmol, Chairman of the Center for a Free Cuba, stated: “The international community must act now. By uniting voices from academia, diplomacy, the Church, and civil society, we are sending a clear message that the Cuban people’s suffering will not be ignored.”

The Center for a Free Cuba will continue to track responses and circulate the petition for signature here [ https://www.change.org/FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners ].

About the Center for a Free Cuba

The Center for a Free Cuba is an independent, non-partisan Washington, D.C.-area organization founded in 1997. It advances human rights, democratic transition, and the rule of law in Cuba through advocacy, information outreach, and humanitarian initiatives.

Media Contact:

John Suarez

Executive Director

Center for a Free Cuba

Email: john.suarez@cubacenter.org

Website: cubacenter.org