Dozens of Cubans and supporters gathered this Sunday along Dixie Highway in Louisville, Kentucky, to denounce the crisis facing Cuba and demand political change on the island.
The protest, covered by the local television channel WLKY, brought together members of the Cuban community who raised their voices against the communist system and demanded free elections, greater opportunities, and respect for citizens' rights.
During the demonstration, several participants described the deterioration of living conditions in Cuba, characterized by prolonged blackouts, food shortages, and a lack of basic services.
“People are dying. They are hungry. There is no life. There is no water. There are no basic human needs,” said Henry, a Cuban immigrant who participated in the protest. “We want freedom for Cuba. We don’t want any kind of negotiation. What we want is freedom. No more communist system in Cuba. That’s why we are here today.”
For many of those present, the claim also has a deeply personal dimension. Henry shared that he emigrated to the United States in 2013 after being imprisoned on the island for his political activism.
"I was imprisoned for being a member of the civil rights movement," he recounted. "I spent three years in prison. I went on a hunger strike for 45 days... until the United States helped me with the processes to come to this beautiful country."
The mobilization comes at a particularly critical time for Cuba, where daily blackouts and fuel shortages have exacerbated the economic and social crisis. The protesters noted that the lack of oil has caused interruptions in essential services, from hospitals to garbage collection, with piles of waste accumulating in neighborhoods.
The organizers of the protest stated that the mobilization aims to keep international attention on the situation in the island and to push for political changes.
For those who took to the streets of Louisville, the message is clear: they do not want the suffering of their relatives in Cuba to go unnoticed. Their hope is that these public demonstrations of support from abroad will help accelerate a change that, they say, Cubans on the island urgently need.
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