The Cuban regime has once again resorted to the political exploitation of children by dressing them as judges and prosecutors to place the U.S. government in the dock, during the so-called anti-imperialist tribunals held in schools in Havana.
The staging was part of the activities celebrating the 65th anniversary of the José Martí Pioneer Organization (OPJM) and the 64th anniversary of the Union of Communist Youth (UJC), and took place at the primary school Rafael María de Mendive and the basic secondary school Rubén Bravo Álvarez, both located in the municipality of Old Havana.
The events were presided over by Meyvis Estévez Echevarría, the first secretary of the UJC, and Chabeli Arencibia Martel, national president of the OPJM, who led a performance in which young people reenacted political speeches and accusations against Washington.
During the so-called tribunals, the students heard testimonies from countries presented as victims of foreign interventions and made accusations against the United States for the economic embargo—described as an “illegal act of economic war”—and for its alleged “active complicity in the genocide against the Palestinian people by arming and financing Israel.”
As a verdict, the minors demanded the lifting of the embargo, the removal of Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the West Bank, and the rest of the Middle East.
The event also featured the presence of representatives from the Provincial People's Court of Havana, a legitimate judicial body of the State, which reinforces the institutional nature of a practice that transcends the symbolic and is integrated into official structures.
One of the attending officials described the initiative as “a nice goal, something commendable,” and assured that the children “didn’t just stand there reading a piece of paper; they truly felt the statements they made.”
In front of the cameras of the state channel Canal Caribe, one of the young participants stated: "We are representing that, even with blockades and oppression against Cuba, the children will be the future and we will be present fighting for our country."
The scene represents a new expression of a sustained pattern of political indoctrination in the Cuban educational system, widely condemned by human rights organizations.
Cubalex has classified these practices as violations of the best interests of the child and the right to an education free from ideological pressures, describing them as a tool for political control and a systematic pattern of indoctrination.
In September 2025, the organization documented that in educational centers across the country, it pressured students to sign statements of support for the Venezuelan government, under the threat of being labeled as "counter-revolutionaries" if they refused.
The legal backing for this type of practice has been explicit.
In December 2024, the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that the new Code of Childhood should prepare our children, adolescents, and young people to develop their abilities in line with the Revolution.
Founded in 1961 under the motto "Pioneers for Communism, We Will Be Like Che," the OPJM brings together children from the age of six and serves as the first link in a system of political organizations designed to ideologically shape new generations from childhood.
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