The Cuban activist Amelia Calzadilla advocated for a "surgical operation" for Cuba similar to what occurred in Venezuela with the capture of Nicolás Maduro and warned that the situation on the island "has stopped being a crisis" to become "direct torture."
Calzadilla made these statements in an interview with CiberCuba, in which she explicitly clarified that she was speaking in her own name and not on behalf of Ciudadanía y Libertad, a Cuban opposition organization of which she is the program coordinator.
The activist described what happened in Venezuela not as a conventional military intervention, but as a different process.
"What we envision for Venezuela is not a military intervention. We see a surgical operation where the dictator is removed and clear conditions are imposed on those who remain in order to transition towards democracy," he stated.
Calzadilla cited the announced return of María Corina Machado and the beginning of a political amnesty process in the country as signs of democratic progress in Venezuela.
"Venezuela cannot be said to have already reached the point of democracy, but it will. It is on the way," he stated.
To illustrate why an external intervention would not equate to a loss of sovereignty, the activist referred to the image of a Cuban mother in Cerro enduring blackouts, with food spoiling and three children crying.
"The last thing I would think is that it is a loss of sovereignty, because they would eliminate the problem at its root. I believe it is the opening and the path towards achieving true sovereignty," he argued.
Calzadilla was emphatic in describing the state of the Cuban people. "Our country is not in a position to extend the torture. This is no longer a crisis. This is direct torture," he noted, adding that the population is "too weak" and "psychologically destroyed" to resolve the conflict on their own.
The activist expanded the concept of incarceration beyond formal political prisoners. "If the people of Cuba are imprisoned, we are all imprisoned. Those who have spoken and are in prison are imprisoned. The one sitting in Campo Florido, enduring a blackout while having to swallow their own anger, is imprisoned," she expressed.
Calzadilla also included Cubans in exile in that condition. His statements come on the same day that the two-week ultimatum that Washington imposed on the Cuban regime expired to release high-profile political prisoners, as part of secret negotiations that began on April 10.
The regime rejected that demand, stating that internal matters "are not on the table," while about 760 political prisoners remained incarcerated on the island as of March 2026, according to estimates from the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba.
"I wouldn't even want us to need help. I wish we had enough autonomy to be able to resolve the conflict on our own. But unfortunately, we are at the point where we are realizing that our people can no longer endure," concluded Calzadilla.
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