The Cuban rapper Raudel Collazo, known as "El Patriota," launched a fierce critique against the Cuban dictatorship during his participation in the "Atlantic Meeting of Think Tanks 2025," an international forum organized by the Union of Latin American Political Parties (UPLA), held in Miami from June 12 to 14.
“Cuba is a criminal regime that is killing its people. Literally”, the artist said passionately in a speech that left no room for ambiguity.
“There is absolute misery, where the Havana regime perpetrates state terrorism against its citizens every day”, he declared before an audience of political leaders, academics, and activists from Latin America, Europe, and the United States.
The intervention, excerpts of which were shared by Collazo on his TikTok account, occurs in a context marked by the recent student protests in Cuba, driven by the increase in internet prices imposed by the state-owned Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba (ETECSA).
The UPLA, which includes 31 political parties in 21 countries, took advantage of the forum to publicly support the demonstrations and reaffirm its commitment to the freedom of the island.
"The mother of all dictatorships"
Collazo questioned the lukewarm response with which, in his view, the Cuban situation is addressed in the international debate. “We are fed up with the Cuba phenomenon, 66 years exporting the same state terrorism to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico… and across the ocean, to Spain,” he stated. “The issue of Cuba is not condemned deeply, it is often approached with indifference. What are we going to do?”, he asked the audience.
For the artist, who has made rap an instrument of resistance, it is not about empty speeches or political aspirations. “I am not a politician who makes rap songs. I am a rapper who speaks about politics… and I use hip hop to condemn the brutal dictatorship that exists in my country,” he has stated at other times.
He, also the founder of the Patriotic Squad project, condemned the repression of freedom of expression and political imprisonment. "In Cuba, there are over a thousand political prisoners counted, and probably more. If you speak out, you go to prison. Literally in prison," he emphasized.
For Collazo, it is impossible to discuss the future of Cuba without clearly confronting its present. “What is happening in Cuba is terrible. Anything we might discuss here is a joke compared to the reality,” he stated. “We cannot address the phenomenon of dictatorships in the region without talking about Cuba, which is the mother of all those dictatorships.”
A forum for the freedom of Cuba and Latin America
During the event, UPLA expressed its support for the young Cubans who have protested against the regime and described the demonstrations as "a testament to the indomitable spirit of a generation committed to change."
In the panel titled “Cuba: On the Brink of a Democratic Transition Process,” Raudel shared the stage with Cuban journalist Claudia Padrón Cueto, the director of América Tevé Miguel Cossío, and former diplomat and political prisoner Luis Zúñiga, reported the independent media outlet CubaNet.
The forum also included discussions on the cost of activism in authoritarian regimes, featuring human rights advocates from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The Atlantic Encounter was sponsored by the International Republican Institute (IRI) and concluded with a declaration of principles in defense of democracy in the hemisphere.
From censored rapper to international political voice
Raudel Collazo is not a new figure in the Cuban resistance. Since the early 2000s, he has been a leading voice of conscious hip-hop on the island, using art as a weapon to openly question the system.
His history of repression includes episodes such as the arbitrary detention he suffered in August 2017, when he was intercepted along with DJ Reymel by State Security upon arriving in Camagüey to participate in an independent underground concert.
Without even getting off the bus, both were arrested and briefly disappeared, as part of the operation mounted by the authorities to sabotage the event. By then, Collazo had been censored and expelled from the official cultural circuits due to his critical music.
In 2011, his song "Decadencia" was included in an international album in support of democracy in Cuba and political prisoners, sharing the stage with artists like Gloria Estefan, Alejandro Sanz, and Willy Chirino.
His career has been marked by official exclusion, but also by a consistency that has made him one of the most respected voices of the Cuban artistic exile.
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