The Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba (CTDC) appointed Félix Navarro Rodríguez as honorary president of the organization this Monday, a recognition that comes as the veteran opposition leader serves his third sentence as a political prisoner in Agüica prison, Matanzas.
The decision was formally announced on August 3, 2026, by the Executive of CTDC, who described Navarro as “a moral and civic reference in the defense of freedom, human rights, and democracy in Cuba for decades.”
The appointment originates from the First Convention of the CTDC, held in the summer of 2025, where the proposal to create this honorary position arose to recognize a founder of the Council who would embody, according to the official statement, “track record, leadership, credibility, coherence, respect for institutionalism, civic humility, and a constant commitment to consensus.”
Navarro had until now held the position of vice president of the CTDC, a role that will be taken over by the individual designated according to the voting order from the recent internal elections of the organization.
The CTDC was founded on June 11, 2021, as a united platform for the Cuban opposition to promote a peaceful transition to democracy, bringing together 46 organizations and independent activists both on the island and abroad.
His first president was José Daniel Ferrer, leader of UNPACU. In December 2025, the Council held internal elections with a turnout of 63% of its registered members, and Manuel Cuesta Morúa took over the presidency in mid-January of this year.
Navarro's history as a political prisoner is one of the longest and most documented in Cuba. He was first imprisoned in 1992 for "enemy propaganda," receiving a sentence of nearly 20 months.
In March 2003, during the so-called Black Spring, he was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison; Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience. He was released in 2011 without accepting exile, following negotiations between the Cuban regime, Spain, and the Catholic Church.
After the protests on July 11, 2021, he was arrested again and sentenced in 2022 to 9 years in prison on charges of assault and public disorder. He was granted parole on January 18, 2025, but the regime re-imprisoned him on April 29 of that year, citing alleged seven unauthorized exits from his municipality.
At 73 years old, with diabetes and severe respiratory problems, Navarro was a victim of a brutal beating in early April in Agüica, after which he was moved to a punishment cell and placed incommunicado.
Her daughter, Sayli Navarro Álvarez, also a political prisoner, was sentenced to 8 years for her participation in the protests on July 11 in Perico, Matanzas. Amnesty International declared both of them prisoners of conscience in October 2024. Last May, Sayli was punished inside prison after publicly disclosing the assault suffered by her father.
The Executive of the CTDC emphasized in her statement that the recognition of Navarro represents "another step towards the institutional and symbolic strengthening" of the Council, which celebrates five years of existence this year.
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