Manolo de los Santos, executive co-director of The People's Forum in New York, stated this week in Havana that Cuba is the place where we can have this kind of debate, conversations that are not possible in other parts of the world, comments that contrast with the reality of over 1,200 Cubans imprisoned for opposing the regime.
De los Santos participated in the 5th International Colloquium "Homeland with Fidel", held from April 16 to 18 in Havana and organized by the Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC), the ideological arm of the Communist Party of Cuba.
In an interview published by Cubadebate, the activist stated: "I believe that in many parts of the world such meetings cannot take place; precisely Cuba is the place where we can have this type of debate, this type of conversation, where we must take on the challenge of where we are going and how we are going to fight in the present."
De los Santos also pointed out that "at this time when the United States is trying to reassert its dominance over the world, imposing its tyranny on social media, communication, and in every aspect, a space for convergence" like the colloquium was urgent.
The irony of his words is significant: Cuba ranks 165th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, with only 26.03 points out of 100, making it the second worst country in Latin America.
Human rights organizations document more than 1,200 active political prisoners on the island as of April 2026, including 131 women and 31 minors. Since the protests of July 11, 2021, 1,981 individuals have been imprisoned for political reasons.
Among the most emblematic prisoners is Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement and a prisoner of conscience recognized by Amnesty International, who remains in Guanajay prison under critical health conditions and facing death threats from State Security agents.
The Cuban Constitution establishes that all media are owned by the State, and the Social Communication Law legally excludes independent journalism from any recognition. The forum attended by De los Santos featured the presence of Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, and the organizational secretary of the PCC, Roberto Morales Ojeda.
It is not the first time that De los Santos has traveled to Cuba to support the regime. In March 2026, he participated in the Convoy Nuestra América, and in November 2024, his organization donated 100 electric generators and 26,000 bottles of cooking oil which were personally delivered to Díaz-Canel. In 2023, he led a delegation of American communists to the island and was welcomed by the Cuban leader.
The People's Forum has been investigated by the United States Congress: the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means determined in September 2025 that the organization received over 20 million dollars from Neville Roy Singham, a businessman with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, and acted as a foreign agent.
While De los Santos celebrates Cuba as a paradise for debate, journalist Yoani Sánchez responded in March to such visits with a phrase that summarizes the feelings of many Cubans: "We are not a theme park. Go do ideological tourism somewhere else. Here, we are suffering."
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