The U.S. Southern Command published a message on Monday on its official X account paying tribute to Cuban mothers separated from their children by the Castro regime, in the context of Mother's Day.
«Honoring the strength of Cuban mothers separated from their children by the Castro regime. No mother should be forced to separate from her family», stated Southern Command, also reaffirming the commitment of the United States to a free Cuba.
The message highlighted the visit that Mike Hammer, the head of mission for the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, made yesterday to the municipality of Regla in Havana to meet with Gisela, the mother of Willie Suárez, a Cuban émigré who voluntarily enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to serve the country that welcomed him.
It was Willie himself who contacted Hammer directly to share his story of exile and enlistment, and to ask him to visit his mother, as he cannot return to Cuba.
During the meeting, Hammer presented flowers to Gisela and personally thanked her for her sacrifice and her son's service.
The diplomat called family separation "extremely cruel, both due to forced exile and the existence of political prisoners in Cuba," and expressed solidarity with all Cuban and Cuban-American mothers affected by migration and the regime's repression.
This Monday, Willie Suárez publicly expressed his emotion on Facebook: "It has been a great honor for Mike Hammer, a U.S. diplomat representing the United States in Cuba, to visit my mother on Mother's Day, bringing her flowers and personally thanking her for my service as a Marine to the country I love so much."
The visit to Regla is part of the strategy of direct diplomacy with Cuban citizens that Hammer has developed since his arrival in Cuba in 2023, featuring tours of communities and meetings with activists, independent journalists, and ordinary people across various provinces.
The case of Willie Suárez— a Cuban émigré serving in the Marines who cannot visit his mother on the island— is presented by U.S. diplomacy as a symbol of a collective reality affecting thousands of Cuban families separated by the dictatorship.
In February of this year, Hammer had already publicly addressed the issue of Cuban families separated by the regime while reflecting on his own mother's birthday, in a message that also garnered significant attention.
The Southern Command, in turn, has intensified its critical public positioning towards Havana. In April 2025, Admiral Alvin Holsey warned the Congress that "Cuba’s malign actions weaken our relationships in the region, foster irregular migration, and threaten the security of the United States," and the institution has labeled the regime as a corrosive element in Latin America.
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