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The Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Margus Tsahkna, met on Wednesday in Tallinn with Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, Secretary General of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC), and issued a statement on his X account in which he stated unequivocally: «The Cuban people deserve freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights».
The meeting took place during a time of intense diplomatic activity by the ARC in Europe. Just the day before, Gutiérrez-Boronat had participated in the International Conference on Freedom in the Western Hemisphere, held in the Parliament of Lithuania, where he demanded an end to European funding of the Cuban dictatorship and noted that Cubans had been protesting in the streets for 70 consecutive days.
Tsahkna described the meeting as an opportunity to "discuss how to support a peaceful democratic future for Cuba" and listed three reasons that, in his view, make reforms urgent: the ongoing imprisonment of political opponents, restrictions on fundamental freedoms, and the Cuban regime's support for Russian aggression against Ukraine.
"These reforms are essential for Cuba to unleash its potential and build a more prosperous future for its people," added the Estonian Foreign Minister.
The meeting in Tallinn coincided with the debate in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, ahead of the scheduled vote this Thursday on a resolution that demands the immediate release of more than 1,200 Cuban political prisoners, sanctions against those responsible for repression and executives of the military conglomerate GAESA, and the possible suspension of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Cuba.
This resolution is a continuation of an amendment approved in January 2026 with 331 votes in favor in the European Parliament to review the privileged cooperation with Havana, citing among other reasons the deployment of more than 1,076 Cuban fighters to Ukraine in support of Russia.
Estonia has maintained a particularly firm stance against the regime. In January 2026, Tsahkna formally requested the EU to review a digitalization project for the Cuban state valued at 441,000 euros, arguing the potential political use of that aid.
Weeks later, in February, the Estonian Academy of Electronic Government froze the shipment of technology equipment intended for Cuba and suspended the "Cuba Digital" project.
For his part, Gutiérrez-Boronat arrived in Tallinn after his presentation in Vilnius, where he described the current moment as the closest to change that Cuba has experienced. "The engine of change is the Cuban people," he stated before officials from the United States, Ukraine, Poland, Armenia, Moldova, and the United Kingdom who supported the cause at that conference.
The opposition leader also emphasized the nature of the protests: "They are not shouting 'give us electricity,' they are not shouting 'lift the embargo'; what they are shouting is 'go away, we are fed up with you, down with communism, freedom.'"
The ARC has been engaged in a sustained advocacy campaign before European institutions since at least 2023. In 2026, this effort has intensified with presentations in Brussels, Madrid, Rome, and the Italian Senate, promoting the Agreement for the Liberation of Cuba along with Pasos de Cambio led by Rosa María Payá.
"It is a regime that was unable to protect Maduro, but it can kill and imprison Cubans, and that's why we have thousands of political prisoners," warned Gutiérrez-Boronat in Vilnius, in a statement that encapsulates the central argument that the Cuban resistance presents to every European capital it visits.
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