Related videos:
On the fifth anniversary of the protests of July 11, 2021, the Ermita de la Caridad del Cobre in Miami published a commemorative message on its social media this Saturday, remembering those who took to the streets in Cuba and praying for those who still pay the price for having done so.
"Today we remember with respect and hope those who, on July 11, 2021, peacefully took to the streets of Cuba demanding freedom, justice, and dignity. We also raise our prayers for those who continue to suffer from imprisonment, persecution, exile, or imposed silence," wrote the sanctuary.
The text placed Cuba under the protection of Our Lady of Charity with a specific request: “On this 5th anniversary of 11J, we place Cuba under the protection of Our Lady of Charity, Mother of all Cubans, asking her to accompany her people on the path towards reconciliation, truth, and freedom.”
In the previous session, the sanctuary had shared a video recorded in July 2021 in which Cuban bishops and priests from the diaspora expressed solidarity with the Cuban people. Among the voices is that of Monsignor Felipe de Jesús Esteves: "With all and for the good of all, charity unites us all born in Cuba. Virgin of Charity, save Cuba."
Another priest in that recording stated: "The Cuban people have the right to live in freedom, to live in democracy, to seek their prosperity. They have the right to a change in their lives. It is time for Cuba." La Ermita emphasized while sharing this that "his words are still relevant" and that the commitment to accompany the Cuban people "with prayer, truth, and Christian hope" remains "unwavering."
The spiritual call comes at a time when the repression stemming from 11J has not ceased. It is estimated that 338 people remain imprisoned directly due to those protests, and the total number of political prisoners in Cuba reached a historic high of 1,281 people in May 2026, according to human rights organizations.
The pardon of 2,010 prisoners announced by the regime on April 2, 2026, explicitly excluded those sentenced for "crimes against authority," the category under which most of the demonstrators from July 11 were criminalized.
One of the most emblematic cases, that of the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, has made headlines as he was taken out of the Guanajay prison on July 7 without his family being informed of his whereabouts. Amnesty International described the situation as enforced disappearance, while the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances initiated urgent action setting July 25 as the deadline for the Cuban state to submit a report.
The 11J Protests were the largest wave of anti-government demonstrations in Cuba since 1959. They began in San Antonio de los Baños and spread to over seventy cities under the cry of "Homeland and Life!". The regime responded with violence: President Díaz-Canel declared on television, "The order to combat has been given," and the organization Justicia 11J documented at least 1,558 arrests, while one protester, Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, lost his life due to gunfire in La Güinera.
In Miami, the organization Cuban Freedom March called for a march this Saturday on Calle Ocho under the slogan "Actions, not words," while in Madrid, exile organizations held a gathering at Puerta del Sol to commemorate the fifth anniversary.
La Ermita, which in 2026 will also celebrate its 50th anniversary of foundation, concluded its message with a phrase that encapsulates the sentiment of exile: "Let this date not only be a memory, but also a commitment to keep hope alive and to continue praying for our homeland."
Filed under: