The former Cuban prosecutor Rosabel Roca Sampedro, known for prosecuting demonstrators from July 11, 2021, in Camagüey, is located in the United States after entering through an appointment with CBP One.
Journalist Mario J. Pentón reported on this case in a detailed article in Martí Noticias. Roca's entry into the United States took place on July 15, 2024, and has generated controversy as several Cuban-American lawmakers had requested that permission be denied due to his involvement in the repression of protesters in Cuba.
Roca was responsible for the sentences of four protesters from 11J, imposing prison terms ranging from three years and six months to four years and four months.
His intervention was key in the repression of the peaceful protests that took place in Cuba in July 2021, where more than 1,000 people were imprisoned by the regime.
Despite all the information about her, this Cuban woman managed to enter the United States. She currently resides in Houston, Texas, and has a work permit. After a year in the country, she could apply for permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
Among the Cuban-American congress members who pressured for her asylum request to be denied is Carlos Giménez. He is one of the signatories of the letter addressed to the Department of Homeland Security and stated that U.S. authorities would proceed with the deportation of the former prosecutor, but that was not the case.
Roca's history in Cuba is marked by his firm support for the Castro regime and his involvement in causes that led to the condemnation of opponents and peaceful protesters.
Among the most notable cases he intervened in is that of the Camagüey opposition figure Bárbaro de Céspedes, who was sentenced to one year and six months in prison for his participation in the protests on July 11.
The arrival of Roca Sampedro in the United States is part of a broader pattern that has seen the entry into the country of several former Cuban officials involved in the repression on the island.
Among those former political leaders and representatives of the regime are Manuel Menéndez Castellanos, former head of the Communist Party in Cienfuegos, and Judge Melody González Pedraza, who hopes to defend her asylum case in the United States and is now speaking out in favor of the release of those she herself judged.
The Cuban community in exile is demanding that these individuals be judged for their involvement in the repression in Cuba before granting them asylum in the United States.
In August, the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) identified 117 Cuban repressors who have entered the United States in the last year. Tony Costa, director of the NGO, stated that many of them have succeeded by lying to U.S. authorities.
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