Cuban activist Carolina Barrero meets with Secretary of State Antony Blinken

The Cuban activist Carolina Barrero met this Monday with the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly to address issues related to freedom of expression and activism in authoritarian regimes.

“This morning, within the framework of the United Nations Assembly, we met with Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, journalists and activists from China, Russia, Iran, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Cuba, to talk about freedom of expression and activism interior of authoritarianism,” Barrero indicated via Twitter.

The art historian and human rights activist traveled to New York to participate in the side event “Human Portraits: Stories of Political Prisoners in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela”. In addition, he took the opportunity to hold meetings with civil society activists from other countries, as well as with academics, government representatives and the international community.

Organized by “Cuba Decide”, “Se Humano”, and “Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón”, in coordination with the Pan American Development Foundation, the event served as a platform to advocate for the freedom of political prisoners in the hands of dictatorships. Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan.

Furthermore, the meeting served to give visibility to the victims and their families, and to learn about the actions carried out by civil society in these countries to protect human rights defenders, activists, political prisoners and all those who expose themselves. to the institutional violence of States that persecute and punish freedom of expression, citizen protest and political opposition.

Although he was not present at the event, Barrero had a special memory for Daniela Rojo, Cuban activist and platform moderator Archipelago, pushed into exile by the repressors of the Castro regime.

“I don't know if you see yourself, but you are in the image; I do not forget. You were imprisoned for 21 days for your participation in 11J and disappeared for 4 days within the framework of the Civic March for Change", said the young activist to Rojo, who left Cuba with her two minor children and requested international protection in Frankfurt, Germany, for being victim of harassment, kidnapping and arbitrary detentions by State Security in Cuba.

The High-Level Week of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly served as an opportunity for an exchange between senior US officials and activists in the region, to whom Blinken reaffirmed his commitment to freedom of expression and freedom of the press , which he defined as “the basis of a healthy democracy.”

“Where freedom of expression is respected, societies flourish. "I appreciated the opportunity this Monday to listen to journalists and civil society at the International Press Center, and thanked them for their vital work in support of democracy and human rights," Blinken tweeted after the meeting.

In a statement After participating in a round table on freedom of expression, the head of US diplomacy warned of the threats that loom over democracies today: censorship, surveillance, restrictive laws, propaganda, the use of detention and prosecution and violence.

“While we condemn efforts to restrict free speech and freedom of the press, we are determined to do everything we can to defend them, including with a number of important American programs that we will have the opportunity to discuss today with our colleagues who do just that.” , he pointed out.

Last Friday, Barero met with the general secretary of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, and they talked about the critical situation of human rights in Cuba, political prisoners and the repressive escalation unleashed by the Cuban regime after the historic 11J protests.

"He emphasized the legitimate aspiration for democracy of the Cuban people"Almagro said about Barrero's message to the countries of the region and the entire international community.