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Senator Ashley Moody and Senator Rick Scott, both Republicans from Florida, introduced a resolution in the Senate on Saturday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the protests on July 11, 2021 in Cuba, condemn the repression by the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel, and demand the immediate release of the more than 1,300 political prisoners who remain incarcerated on the island.
The initiative, which includes eight specific points, was announced by Moody on his social media on Friday, in a message written in Spanish in which he compared the courage of the Cuban people to that of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
"Five years ago, the Cuban people rose up in a series of protests against the tyrannical Communist Party that has ruled Cuba for over half a century," the senator wrote on her X account.
"The men and women who bravely faced their government suffered beatings and torture; however, they stood firm, demanding the fundamental rights that have been eroded by socialist policies," he added.
Moody closed his message with the words: "We present this resolution as a reminder, not only of the ills of the oppressive Cuban regime, but also of the power of a people who rise courageously against communism. Homeland and Life."
The resolution presented to the Senate includes eight specific demands: to commend the courage of the Cuban pro-democracy movement; to condemn the repression against activists and political prisoners, including minors; to condemn the totalitarian dictatorship; to call for international solidarity with the Cuban people; to urge coordinated sanctions and diplomatic pressure; to request that President Trump's administration maintain strong sanctions until U.S. law conditions are met; to support the right to peaceful assembly and free expression; and to encourage support for civil society organizations and independent Cuban media.
The context in which this initiative arises is particularly serious. According to data from Prisoners Defenders as of the end of June 2026, Cuba records 1,306 political and conscience prisoners, a record figure, which includes 40 minors detained—16 of them in adult prisons—and 148 women under fiscal orders or convictions.
The organization Justicia 11J estimates that 338 individuals directly linked to the 2021 protests are still imprisoned.
Moody occupies the seat that belonged to the current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, after being appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis in January 2025.
Since her arrival in the Senate, the legislator has maintained a position of maximum pressure against the Cuban regime, co-leading with Scott the DEMOCRACY Act to punish regime officials for human rights violations, and publicly reading in May 2026 the formal accusation by the Department of Justice against Raúl Castro for the crime against the Brothers to the Rescue pilots.
This Saturday, on the fifth anniversary of the 11J, Rubio also called for the immediate release of Cuban political prisoners and warned that the United States would use all available tools to pressure the regime, while Ambassador Mike Hammer visited the families of political prisoners from the 11J in Havana.
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