The Cuban Communist Party has long despised legitimate political opponents as “terrorists,” but giving the smear a “legal guise” by formally accusing U.S.-based journalists, activists, and others of crimes is a move they are not willing to make. human rights activists told Breitbart. news.
In December, Castro’s government published in the Interior Ministry’s official gazette a list of 61 people, many of them U.S.-based anticommunist activists, and 20 organizations branded “terrorists.”
The Official Gazette specified that those identified were “being sought by the Cuban authorities for involvement in terrorist acts,” defined in part as “acts that threaten the constitutional order and the normal use or functioning of the media.” The Gazette publication did not present any evidence against the accused, nor did it explain whether the charges were a formal prosecutorial action or whether Cuba was seeking the extradition of those targeted. Not yet.
The list includes several prominent journalists, YouTube personalities, and activists in the American Cuban exile community, including radio host Ninoska Pérez Castellón and Alan “Paparazzi Cubano” (Ukrainian They also included an online program host (who spread the story of Cuban teenagers who were tricked into fighting). Alexander Otaora is currently running He was elected mayor of Miami, Florida, on a platform of turning Miami into a “communist-free zone.”
Cuba is a designated state sponsor of terrorism by the United States and has close ties to international terrorist organizations such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Hezbollah.
FILE/A man cheers on people marching through the streets of Miami, Florida, on July 11, 2022, to commemorate last year’s historic protests in Cuba. On July 11, in American cities, hundreds of members of Miami’s Cuban community took to the streets to mourn. A year ago, historic protests took place in Cuba against the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
Appearing to formally designate people, including journalists and human rights defenders, as “terrorists,” raising concerns that the regime may soon go after Interpol. red notification For individuals, a formal request for arrest by a Member State. Red notices severely restrict recipients’ ability to travel abroad and have long been seen as a useful tool by authoritarian regimes to silence dissent.
Interpol is not entirely immune to the influence of communist regimes. In 2018, China abducted Interpol President Meng Hongwei and hid her in a labyrinthine legal system to pressure Interpol to promote pro-China officials.
Cuba’s foreign ministry also made moves to suggest it is seeking help from left-wing US President Joe Biden’s administration in tracking down “terrorists.” The ministry announced in February that it had handed over a list of “terrorists” to the US side after a meeting with Biden administration officials.Biden administration Confirmed The company was “aware” of the listing, but did not elaborate at the time.
The State Department issued a stronger statement to Breitbart News this week, calling out “the potential abuse of the Interpol system aimed at silencing perceived dissidents for the exercise of fundamental freedoms. We are actively investigating the situation and exploring options to address the situation.”
Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, coordinator of the General Assembly of the Cuban Resistance and a Breitbart News contributor, told Breitbart News on Wednesday that the terrorist announcement was part of an “overt and covert campaign of intimidation on U.S. soil.” He said that there is, emphasizing that: “No U.S. government should defend this.” Gutierrez-Boronato was named to the list.
“Under Cuba’s totalitarian regime, there is no separation of powers. There is no grand jury. The state is omnipotent,” Gutiérrez Boronato stressed. “Once a person is “indicted,” it is the same as being found guilty of the charges presented. Judicial power is completely subordinated to the State Council.”
On November 21, 2022, former Polish President Lech Walesa, Cuban Resistance Movement Congress Coordinator Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, and other protesters participate in a protest against communism in front of the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico. people gather. (Courtesy of Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat/Assembly for the Cuban Resistance)
Luis Zuniga, a former diplomat with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations who is also on the “terrorist” list, told Breitbart News that he has contacted Interpol for more information. Zuniga, who was imprisoned for 19 years in Cuba for opposing the Castro regime, has been verbally branded a “terrorist” for decades, but his use of the Official Gazette has given rise to a “terrorist” label that could confuse foreigners. “It gave them a legal pretense,” he said. He was complicit in the regime’s persecution.
“They have no evidence. They make accusations generously – they have always done so historically. and accusing those who oppose it of terrorism,” Zuniga explained in a conversation with Breitbart News. “I have faced similar persecution since I was 15 years old,” Zuniga said. , I wasn’t allowed to graduate.” But he suggested that his main reason for being on the list was his decades of diplomatic work at the United Nations, where he served as an advisor to the Nicaraguan delegation and the U.S. delegation to the then-Human Rights Commission. Zuniga is an American citizen.
Luis Zuniga attends a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva, Switzerland in 2004. (Courtesy of Luis Zuniga)
“They accused me at the time,” Zuniga recalled. “They sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuellar asking how it was possible for terrorists to join the US delegation.”
The U.S. delegation responded with “very strong words”, stressing that Zuniga “passed absolute and complete clearance before being appointed as a diplomat” and demanding his withdrawal from the Cuban regime. That didn’t happen, he recalled.
Zuniga told Breitbart News that he has had no contact with the State Department since being placed on the “terrorist” list. He chose to contact Interpol directly, which requires accusing countries to provide concrete evidence in order to receive a red notice, but Cuban authorities cannot provide such evidence. He said he was assured that it was not provided.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed to Breitbart News this week that he is “aware” of the terrorist list and called Cuba’s claims that the U.S. government is encouraging violence against the regime “outrageous and false.” It was rejected as such.
“The United States is committed to urging the Cuban government to release approximately 1,000 unjustly detained political prisoners and to allow its people to exercise the full range of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. also supported this,” the spokesperson said.
On the issue of the “terrorist” list, the spokesperson added: [State] The Ministry is actively investigating the situation and exploring options to address potential abuses of the Interpol system, which aims to silence people considered dissidents against the exercise of fundamental freedoms. . ”
Transnational repression is when a foreign dictatorship uses international means to intimidate, harass, and attack asylum seekers who choose to leave the country and then speak out about the horrors of life under that regime. , and other methods of silencing. In a report, human rights organization Freedom House condemned the sharp increase in cross-border repression around the world. published In February, it identified Cuba’s allies China, Russia and Turkey as among the worst perpetrators of cross-border repression. Freedom House noted that in 2023 it had documented the first confirmed case of Cuba’s involvement in cross-border repression.
FILE/Protesters attend a rally in Miami to commemorate the first anniversary of the July 11 protests in Cuba and support the freedom of the Cuban people on July 11, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkle/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Freedom House identifies “exiled political activists, journalists, former regime insiders, and members of ethnic or religious minorities” as the individuals most at risk of being targeted by this form of political violence. Identified.
The Biden administration has faced criticism for its slow response to the attempted cross-border crackdown on Americans and U.S.-based dissidents.
“Tragically, the Biden administration’s response to foreign governments that harass, intimidate, or intimidate individuals in the United States is extremely It was weak,” he told Breitbart News. In a statement.Rep. Smith introduced The Transnational Repression Policy Act, introduced in the House of Representatives in May, would require the president to impose sanctions on individuals identified as attempting cross-border repression.
Congressman Smith told Breitbart News, “Congress is calling for my superseding mandate to require the president to impose sanctions that block the issuance of property and visas to foreign individuals and entities directly involved in these gross human rights abuses.” We should immediately pass the Repression Policy Act, which cuts across partisan lines.” “Cuban officials complicit in cross-border repression, including abuse of the Interpol system, must be named and sanctioned.”
