The Republican congresswoman from Florida, María Elvira Salazar, confronted Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the activist organization Code Pink, this Thursday in a video posted on her X account, where she directly asked her if she believes that the Castro regime will ever allow free elections in Cuba.
The exchange, recorded in front of a government building in Washington, lasted one minute and 14 seconds. In it, Salazar asked Benjamin if he supports free and fair elections in Cuba and whether he trusts that the regime will allow them. In response to the activist's answer, the congresswoman was blunt: "Then you’ve been deceived."
In the message that accompanied the video, Salazar was straightforward: "Unfortunately, the Castro regime has deceived Medea and the activists of Code Pink. They have completely drunk the Kool-Aid."
Salazar explained what he truly desires for Cubans: "What I want for Cubans is the same freedom that Medea enjoys in Washington: the right to protest, to criticize the government, and to return home safely."
And he added: "Try it in Havana. In Cuba, opposing the regime can land you in prison, or worse. Cubans deserve freedom and fair elections."
In the video, the congresswoman also argued that lifting the sanctions would not benefit the Cuban people but the regime: "We would be giving the Castro regime the opportunity to obtain loans from multilateral organizations. They will take those loans and buy better weapons for repression."
The confrontation occurs at a time of high tension between pro-regime activists and Cuban-American lawmakers. On May 24th, federal agents from the Department of the Treasury summoned Medea Benjamin and influencer Hasan Piker for their participation in the "Convoy Nuestra América," a caravan that traveled to Cuba in March 2026 with around 650 delegates from 33 countries.
The investigation examines whether the activists violated existing U.S. sanctions, including possible stays in hotels listed on the State Department's restricted list and the delivery of between 6,000 and 6,300 pounds of medicine to the Cuban Ministry of Health. Benjamin described the Treasury's action as a "tactic of intimidation" and stated that Code Pink acted under a category of permitted humanitarian aid.
Salazar has maintained a consistent stance against the Cuban dictatorship. In April, she declared that the communist regime is "on life support" and that "Trump just needs to unplug it." In May, she applauded the Trump administration's sanctions against GAESA, the Cuban military-business conglomerate, and has denounced specific cases of repression such as that of the teenager Jonathan David Muir Burgos, who has been detained since March 16.
Code Pink and other leftist groups advocate for the lifting of sanctions, arguing that they harm the Cuban people. Salazar, on the other hand, argues that any economic relief only strengthens the regime: "The Castrist regime will say: perfect, now we will have more money to suppress even more. They will never, ever, ever hold free and fair elections."
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