The Cuban-American Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar posted a video on her X account in which she unequivocally rejected any negotiations with the Cuban regime that do not aim for a full transition to democracy.
"One does not negotiate with the Castros, nor with that regime. Here, we only discuss how to transition towards democracy, freedom, and all the human rights that the people deserve," stated the legislator from Florida.
Salazar was explicit in rejecting the so-called "Chinese model," which refers to economic openness under the control of a single-party political system, as a solution for Cuba.
"Don't count on me if it's about maintaining what is the Chinese model, which holds political power in hand and then gives the economy to the masses and to entrepreneurs. That does not exist in this scenario," he warned.
The congresswoman was also emphatic about who will not have a place in any scenario she supports.
"To perpetuate the Castros or some of their friends or some of the violators or some of those who were in Villamarista, people from that apparatus, do not count on me," he emphasized.
Salazar emphasized the need for an orderly process that includes "trials" similar to those at Nuremberg and an accounting without bloodshed, also ruling out a civil war.
"The only way out in Cuba is a transition to democracy", the freedom and human rights that the Cuban people deserve, she wrote in her post.
His words are particularly significant because, on that same day, the regime announced measures for economic opening for Cubans abroad -participation in private enterprises, usufruct of land, and foreign currency bank accounts- presented by Deputy Prime Minister Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, great-nephew of Fidel and Raúl Castro.
María Elvira's statements come at a time of heightened diplomatic tension, with confirmed contacts between Washington and Havana.
Donald Trump himself confirmed the existence of those contacts, labeled Cuba as a "failed nation," and stated that he will have the honor of taking Cuba.
"I believe I will have the honor of taking Cuba. Taking Cuba. That is, if I liberate it, I take it. I think I can do whatever I want with it," said the U.S. president.
Position of other Cuban-American congress members
On March 11, Salazar and his colleague Mario Díaz-Balart had already jointly stated that any negotiation between the U.S. and Cuba must include the complete departure from power of the Castro family.
"We cannot leave any Castro behind; here, if they are talking to any Castro, it's only to discuss when they are leaving, how they are leaving, or what the conditions will be, but not for anyone to stay," Salazar noted on that occasion.
Díaz-Balart was equally direct: "There is no confusion here: everyone knows who controls that regime; that regime must disappear; there are no negotiations to sustain that regime or to give it any support."
The context in which these statements are made is one of a Cuba on the brink of collapse.
The country projects a GDP contraction of -7.2% in 2026, with prolonged blackouts and widespread shortages worsened by the cut in Venezuelan oil supplies.
The regime announced the release of 51 political prisoners as a gesture towards Washington, but Prisoners Defenders documents 1,214 political prisoners on the island and recorded 28 new detainees in February alone.
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