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Hundreds of members of the Cuban and Venezuelan exile communities in Miami-Dade County gathered this Sunday at the Presencia Viva Christian Church in the city of Doral to take part in a day of prayer for the “liberation” of Cuba and Venezuela.
According to a report by the agency EFE, the event, organized by the Assembly of Cuban Resistance (ARC), combined a mass and moments of spiritual reflection under the slogan "Prayer for a free Venezuela and a free Cuba."
The event brought together faithful, religious and community leaders, as well as local civic and political figures.
The Secretary General of the ARC, Orlando Gutiérrez, explained that the gathering was "an act of unity and hope for the future of both countries," and also a gesture of solidarity with "those within Cuba who have begun a journey of prayer to save Cuba."
Gutiérrez stated that "we feel in our hearts, based on what we see in the struggle of the Cuban people, that the moment of Cuba's freedom is approaching, but it is essential to spiritually empower the people in the re-foundation of Cuba in Christ Jesus."
According to details provided by CubaNet, among the attendees at the gathering were representatives connected to the White House, the mayor of Doral, Christi Fraga, Cuban political prisoners, Masonic leaders, exiled leaders, and pastors from various religious denominations.
Pastor Edwin Castro, leader of the Presencia Viva church, emphasized the importance of spiritual support during times of crisis.
“We have a role to support and accompany the peoples of Latin America. We have been praying for the case of Venezuela for perhaps 10 or 12 years, but we also want to unite in the case of Cuba. We have many people in our community who belong to both the beautiful nation of Cuba and the beautiful nation of Venezuela,” he declared to CubaNet.
For his part, Cuban opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer emphasized the convergence between faith and civic action.
"Pray for the freedom of Cuba and Venezuela. Our peoples deserve to enjoy the rights and freedoms that nearly all the nations of the continent have. And to achieve this, both action and prayer are necessary," he emphasized.
Ferrer added that the prayers also called for "an America united in the defense of freedom, democracy, human rights, and a free-market economy, to lift our nations out of the misery that those dictatorships opposed to Christianity have imposed on our peoples."
Participants expressed hope for the future of both countries, especially after the U.S. military operation on January 3 that resulted in the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in Caracas.
"I prayed for the land that saw me born, Cuba, with the hope that a new day will come, a new dawn for Cuba, where we can sit at a table and freely express our opinions and vote for the leader we desire," said the Cuban pastor Eida Diego, one of the participants.
The event concluded with a religious ceremony and collective prayers for political prisoners, victims of repression, and families affected by the humanitarian crises in Cuba and Venezuela, in an atmosphere of unity among faith communities, exile organizations, and civic representatives from South Florida.
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