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The United States Department of State welcomed Sissi Abascal and her family this Thursday upon their arrival in Miami in forced exile, after years of unjust detention by the Cuban regime.
The Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs published an official welcome message for Sissi Abascal in which it described her detention as "unjust" and reaffirmed the Trump Administration's commitment to the release of all Cuban political prisoners.
"After years of unjust detention by the illegitimate Cuban regime, today we welcome the defender of freedom for the Ladies in White, Sissi Abascal, and her family, who have been forced into exile," stated the institution.
Abascal, at the age of 27, is considered the youngest Dama de Blanco in Cuba. She was arrested on November 3, 2021 in Carlos Rojas, municipality of Jovellanos, province of Matanzas, for her participation in the protests of July 11, 2021.
The Municipal Court of Jovellanos sentenced her to six years in prison on charges of contempt, assault, and public disorder, and she began serving her sentence on December 27, 2021, at the women's prison La Bellotex in Matanzas.
Inside the prison, Abascal was classified as a "negative inmate" for refusing to participate in mandatory political activities, and she received at least seven denials for a transfer to a less severe prison regime, the last one in September 2025.
The regime also prohibited her from receiving warm clothing to sleep in during the winter in October 2022, and she underwent urgent surgery for bartolinitis on August 28, 2025, without the authorities notifying her family.
His sentence was set to expire on November 5, 2027, meaning he had approximately 14 months left to serve at the time of his release.
The organization Cubalex classified her departure as "freedom conditioned on exile," a common mechanism used by the regime to exile opponents instead of granting them prison benefits within Cuba.
The release was managed by the Fundación Rescate Jurídico, led by activist and entrepreneur Santiago Álvarez.
"After much hard work and patience, as it was truly a long journey, we finally managed to get the Cuban dictatorship to release Sissi Abascal from prison so that she can receive treatment for her health issues in the United States," Álvarez stated.
Abascal arrived in Miami with a humanitarian visa granted by the State Department, whose "Unjustly Detained" campaign had included his case in early September 2025.
His parents, Annia Zamora and Armando Abascal, also activists, were detained and fined on April 11, 2022, in retaliation for their opposition work.
The release of Abascal occurs in a context of unprecedented repression: according to Prisoners Defenders, in March 2026, Cuba recorded 1,250 political prisoners, including 31 minors, a historical record, of which 358 were imprisoned for participating in the protests of July 11th.
The Trump Administration reaffirmed that it remains "committed to the release of all political prisoners and a future free from tyranny for the Cuban people."
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