The Cuban-American representative María Elvira Salazar stated during a Hearing of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs of the House of Representatives that Cubans have lost their fear of the Castro regime and, more importantly, have lost faith in its invincibility.
"Cubans have lost their fear. And even more importantly, they have lost their belief in the invincibility of the Castro regime, which has lived in the soul of every Cuban for the past 65 years," declared Salazar during the hearing titled Latin America After the Fall of Maduro.
The congresswoman, who chairs the subcommittee, warned that this psychological shift has direct consequences for the dictatorship: "When people lose their fear, the dictatorship is about to lose everything."
Salazar cited specific data on popular activism: Cubans have taken to the streets more than 200 times in the last month, including the fire at the headquarters of the Communist Party in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, on March 14.
The congresswoman directly compared Miguel Díaz-Canel to Nicolás Maduro, who was captured on January 3 by the Trump administration: Díaz-Canel said on television that he would not leave, that he would not abandon power. A few months ago, Maduro said the same thing, and look where he is now.
His diagnosis of the state of the regime was categorical: "The communist regime in Cuba is on life support. Trump just needs to disconnect it."
The main witness of the hearing, Ambassador Michael Kozak, a senior official of the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the State Department, confirmed before Congress that President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are overseeing talks with the Cuban regime, although he refused to disclose details.
Kozak explained that Cuba lost its main benefactor with Maduro's fall: Venezuela was supplying it with approximately 70,000 barrels of oil daily virtually for free, of which Cuba sold about 60% on the open market to obtain foreign currency.
"I don't see anyone else willing to be their 'sugar daddy' now. So they have a problem of their own making that they need to resolve," Kozak pointed out.
Regarding the possibility of an agreement with the Castro family, the diplomat was straightforward: "We are not going to make any deals with the Castros. They need to leave, and then we can start over."
Salazar emphasized that the Cuban exile in Miami will not accept any agreement that preserves the regime or the Castro family, and explicitly rejected the Venezuelan model — where Delcy Rodríguez replaced Maduro without free elections — as an option for Cuba. On X, she reiterated: "The Cuban people deserve freedom, not another agreement to keep the same regime in power. I made it clear: there are no negotiations with the Castro family to preserve a dictatorship. The future of Cuba must be decided by its people, not by a dynasty."
Kozak acknowledged that within the regime itself, there are individuals, especially from the younger generation, who wonder why Cuba is so poor and lacks access to the internet and investment, and who are seeking ways to modernize, although he warned that the system was designed to hinder any initiative for change.
Cubalex documented 229 protests in March 2026, the highest monthly figure since the 11J demonstrations in July 2021, averaging seven daily across all provinces.
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