The father José Conrado Rodríguez Alegre, parish priest of the San Francisco de Paula church in Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, delivered a message of peaceful resistance to the Cubans on the island this Thursday in the context of the massive protests that erupted in Havana on Wednesday night, the largest since July 11, 2021.
In an interview with journalist Tania Costa from CiberCuba, the 75-year-old priest, who has dedicated half a century to his vocation, invoked the figure of Gandhi to outline his ethical stance against the regime's repression: "I am willing to die but I am not willing to kill. They will not force me to kill because I will not. That cannot be. But no one can stop me from dying for the cause I believe in, for the truth that I know is the truth."
Father Conrado directed his message to those who remain on the island after the protests reported in San Miguel del Padrón, Santos Suárez, Playa, and Nuevo Vedado, triggered by power outages lasting up to 24 consecutive hours and a record electricity deficit of 2,113 MW.
"Let them place themselves in the hands of the Lord. Let them not allow themselves to be crushed as has happened until now. Let them do it peacefully," was his message.
The priest did not shy away from the reality of the physical threat posed by the regime: "We need to be clear and be prepared. We must suffer for the truth we believe in, while trusting in God, who is stronger than all the power that humans may have." He added, without hesitation: "They can kill, they can kill."
To support his stance, Father Conrado cited the Cuban national anthem La Bayamesa —“to die for peace is to live”— as a reminder that the willingness to sacrifice for a just cause is part of Cuban identity, although he clarified that no one should seek martyrdom.
"No one should desire martyrdom. I never have, to be honest, I have never wanted it. I love life very much. I enjoy living. I like to enjoy the friendship and affection of my friends and my family," he stated.
The priest also publicly acknowledged feeling fear, in a gesture of honesty that is unusual among those critical of the regime: "I am afraid. Because if I weren't, I wouldn't be a normal human being. Human beings feel fear. But God never fails. The Lord never fails."
He explained that his strength to continue comes from his love for people: "What truly makes me happy is the people, their affection, loyalty, and friendship, which give me the strength to keep fighting. But because I love them, I have to fight."
The interview takes place two days after Father Conrado met in Havana with Mike Hammer, the mission chief of the United States Embassy in Cuba, who described him as "a strong voice that reflects his love for the homeland".
In February, when Hammer visited the priest in Trinidad, the regime responded by organizing three acts of repudiation in less than 24 hours against the priest and the diplomat.
Father Conrado is one of the most critical Catholic voices against the regime for decades and has sent open letters to Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, Vladimir Putin, and Pope Francis, in which he questioned the papal silence regarding the repression of July 11th.
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