Sor Nadieska Almeida Miguel, superior of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul in Cuba, published a lengthy denunciation on her Facebook account, where she openly labels the Cuban government as a "dictatorship" and urges the people not to give up on their dreams of freedom.
The text, titled "I have seen... I have witnessed," and based on the biblical verse from Exodus in which God observes the suffering of the Hebrew people before entrusting them with their liberation, represents the most direct and explicit statement the religious leader has made in years of public pronouncements against the regime.
"We are not living; we are dragging our existence. We seem like corpses stretching the little breath of life that remains, and we continue to pay the price for the abuse of power by those who believe that after 67 years, this system can persist," he wrote.
The religious sister describes having personally experienced "anguish, exhaustion, a weariness that brings tears of helplessness and anger," and joins what she calls "the fight against the long chain of impossibilities," ranging from obtaining bread to accessing water, in direct reference to the severe water crisis affecting the Island.
In one of the most striking passages of the text, he denounces the regime's intimidation tactics: "I have witnessed the pressure exerted to silence us, through threats or 'messages' via third parties as a mechanism of intimidation."
In the face of that pressure, Sister Nadieska asserts the right to protest: "Demanding rights is not unconstitutional; it is the most legitimate and legal thing a citizen has on their side."
It also warns the authorities about the consequences of their silencing policy: "The authorities have a duty to listen and not to silence. The fact that they silence us only leads to greater unrest and significant confrontation, because we all know that you cannot cover the sun with a finger, and lies cannot be hidden with speeches."
The message includes a direct call to those who have lost hope: “I dream of a Cuba free from dictatorship, free from the shackles of a chronic and agonizing power. I invite you, who feel that you can no longer go on, do not give up on your dreams, do not let your hope fade, no matter how small it may be.”
"It is neither normal nor will it ever be acceptable for an entire country to continue suffering unnecessarily. I hope we can make the arrival of that day possible and together reclaim the life we deserve," concludes the religious leader.
This statement is the latest in a history of denunciation that the Cuban nun has maintained in recent years.
In August 2023, she stated that Cubans "are trapped on an island that many have forgotten", and last December debunked the official slogan that "the revolution leaves no one behind", asserting that "there has never been a time of greater abandonment."
In June, she rejected the package of 176 economic measures approved by the National Assembly, arguing that they do not address the underlying issue as they leave the totalitarian political system intact.
Sister Nadieska's voice joins that of other figures from the Cuban Catholic Church who have raised the level of their criticism.
In January, Cuban bishops called for "structural, social, economic, and political changes" to prevent "social chaos," and this month, the archbishop of Santiago de Cuba emphasized that Cubans need to "live with decency and dignity."
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