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The Miami-Dade County Commissioner, Natalie Milian Orbis, publicly rejected on Friday any potential agreement between the United States and the Cuban government that would keep the island's political system intact.
In a message shared on her X account, the official stated that “any negotiation that preserves a communist one-party dictatorship while ignoring the fundamental requirements of the Freedom Act is unacceptable.”
Milian Orbis reacted this way to the announcement by the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel, who confirmed early in the morning discussions with U.S. officials, supposedly initiated by Raúl Castro.
The fact, according to the commissioner, reflects the increasing pressure the regime is facing amidst the economic and political crisis the country is experiencing.
The official emphasized that U.S. legislation is clear in stating that sanctions can only be lifted when Cuba begins an irreversible transition to a multiparty democracy, fully respects human rights and civil liberties, and takes concrete measures to return or compensate for properties confiscated from Cuban and Cuban-American families.
In this regard, he defended the pressure policy implemented by the administration of President Donald Trump towards Havana and considered that the tightening of sanctions has contributed to forcing the Cuban government to come to the negotiating table.
In his opinion, "it is firmness, not concessions," that compels authoritarian regimes to respond.
However, the commissioner warned that international pressure must translate into concrete political transformations.
He pointed out that as long as the regime continues to refuse to allow free and competitive elections, pursues dissidents, and refuses to recognize property rights, the United States should not legitimize or finance its hold on power.
Milian Orbis also stated that the Cuban community in exile has made sacrifices that are too significant to accept an agreement that would leave the people of the island without democracy, human rights, or restitution of confiscated properties, principles outlined in the Libertad Act, also known as the Helms-Burton Act, signed by President William Clinton on March 12, 1996.
The commissioner’s statements come amid a growing political debate in the United States, following the Cuban government's acknowledgment of contacts with Washington, a scenario that various political actors in exile have interpreted as a sign of the regime's weakness in light of the internal crisis affecting the island.
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