Cuban economist and businessman Manuel Milanés revealed in an interview with Tania Costa that the Cuban regime included him on its national terrorist list and that this information was communicated to Interpol, which forces him to take additional precautions when traveling internationally.
When asked by CiberCuba whether he would go to Cuba if there were a change, Milanés responded that he dreams of returning during a transition. "Of course, now I'm on the terrorism list. I have to be careful about where I go because they reported it to Interpol," Milanés stated.
The opposition member described the practical consequences he has experienced firsthand: when going through immigration controls at airports, his name appears in the computer systems marked as "terrorist," which can lead to detentions.
"I am sure that the European Union is not going to send me to prison, but it is on the computer when you go through airport security, because it has happened to me. Yes, it's there, my name is there, it says terrorist next to it," he explained.
Milanés clarified that in countries of the European Union, the risk is lower because the authorities are aware of the political background of the list. "The European Union recognizes that it is a form of coercion, a coercive method towards the opposition," Costa noted.
For his part, the businessman acknowledged that there are destinations where danger is real. "I wouldn’t even think about passing through Nicaragua. Or, of course, Venezuela, no matter how much they say it’s free; it’s certainly not free for me yet," he stated, referring to the allies of the Cuban regime.
Far from feeling intimidated, Milanés sees his inclusion on the list as a sign that his activism bothers the regime. "These people are unbelievable. They made that list and of course, they expect us to be quiet or not travel or to be limited in some way, and that’s not the case. For me, that is more of a recognition," he claimed.
The National List of Individuals and Entities Linked to Terrorism was created by the Cuban regime in December 2023, featuring 61 individuals and 19 entities. The Cuban government submitted the list to Interpol in January 2024 and also provided information about it to the United States in February of that year, although neither of the two organizations publicly confirmed having validated or implemented measures based on it.
Spain, for its part, indicated that it had no official knowledge of alerts at its airports against those mentioned on the list, which suggests that the Cubans included may travel to Spain without direct consequences.
Among the influencers and opposition members included in that list are Alexander Otaola, Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, Eliecer Ávila, Liudmila Santiesteban, and Alain Lambert, known as Paparazzi Cubano.
In July 2025, the Ministry of the Interior of Cuba updated the list to include 62 individuals and 20 organizations, thereby expanding the scope of this transnational pressure tool against opposition activism in exile.
Milanés warned that the problem does not only affect the directly accused opponent: "There are countries where you have to be careful because someone who is uninformed can detain you for two hours, and no one can take that away from you," he concluded, referring to the impact this situation also has on their family and close friends.
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