UNPACU: 15 years of struggle for the freedom of Cuba and assistance to those in greatest need

The Patriotic Union of Cuba, UNPACU, was founded on August 24, 2011, after several months of discussions, meetings, contacts, and exchanges among those of us who would become its founders. Among them were, from Spain, Javier Larrondo, Luis Enrique, and Ana Belkis Ferrer García, along with several dozen activists from Cuba, primarily from Palmarito de Cauto, Palma Soriano, and Santiago de Cuba. 

Since its early days, UNPACU began to introduce a new dynamic to the struggle for freedom and democracy in Cuba through flash marches, public demonstrations, graffiti, leaflets, the distribution of printed materials, and the production of audiovisual content focused on freedom, democracy, and human rights.

Thousands of DVDs circulated among the population, and many audiovisual materials were screened in venues, homes of activists, and the houses of collaborators, to inform, document, and encourage Cubans to join the fight for freedom, democracy, human rights, and the well-being of our people.

UNPACU has also infused a deeply humanitarian and supportive character into its activism. Among our main tenets has always been that the fight for human rights cannot be separated from solidarity with those who suffer. That is why we have stood by political prisoners and their families, the elderly who endure hunger, malnutrition, illness, and neglect, children and women in conditions of extreme vulnerability, and entire families affected by extreme poverty and all kinds of deprivation.

Repression did not take long to arrive. Just four days after its inception, on August 28, 2011, UNPACU faced one of its first major repressive operations by the tyranny against the emerging organization. Following demonstrations held in Palma Soriano, special forces from the Ministry of Interior violently stormed a home on Paquito Borrero Street. The agents broke a window, entered the premises, and used tear gas. With both long and short firearms, they forcibly removed more than thirty activists. Twenty-seven were detained, and about a dozen remained imprisoned, becoming the first political prisoners of our organization.

Far from being intimidated, the members of UNPACU intensified our actions and continued to expand the organization throughout eastern Cuba and, subsequently, towards the central and western regions of the country. Since its inception, UNPACU has maintained a close friendship and solidarity with the Ladies in White, accompanying them in their actions in both eastern and western Cuba. Promoting unity, cooperation, and solidarity among those who sincerely fight against the dictatorship has been a constant over these fifteen years.

Humanitarian action has continued even in times of intense persecution. UNPACU activists have distributed food and medicine, provided primary care to the sick, and assisted the elderly, children, women, and vulnerable families, especially in Santiago de Cuba, Palma Soriano, and Palmarito de Cauto. In recent years, many of these actions have had to be carried out discreetly to avoid new incarcerations and reprisals against those who help and those who receive help.

The social work of UNPACU has ranged from cleaning the home of an elderly person who was abandoned and without family or state support to cleaning parks, streets, and coastal areas. We have repaired doors, windows, floors, and walls, and in some cases, contributed to the near-complete construction of homes for extremely needy individuals and for persecuted activists. We have also assisted families affected by hurricanes and other disasters.

Since 2012, following the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy on Eastern Cuba, we have developed a close humanitarian cooperation with the Cuban American National Foundation (FNCA), our main ally, to assist those in greatest need. Later, we also partnered with Cuba Decide.

The price paid has been enormous. Over these fifteen years, more than 200 members and activists linked to UNPACU have been imprisoned by the regime, and it continues to be one of the Cuban opposition organizations with the highest number of incarcerated members. Our leadership and our activists have always sought to set an example in the face of repression, maintaining a firm stance both in prisons and on the streets, in towns, cities, and rural areas of Cuba.

Four members of UNPACU have died in the jails of the tyranny: Wilman Villar Mendoza died on hunger strike in 2012; Hamell Santiago Más Hernández died of tuberculosis in 2017 at Combinado del Este; Pablo Moya Delá died at home in 2021, having been released when it was clear he could not be saved; Manuel de Jesús Guillén Esplugas died after a brutal beating in prison in 2024. All are martyrs of the struggle for the freedom of our homeland.

UNPACU works and collaborates with FNCA, the Ladies in White, Cuba Decide, Pasos de Cambio, the Cuban Democratic Directorate, the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, the People’s Party (PDP), the Cuban Anti-Communist Foundation, the Opponents for a New Republic Movement, the Democracy Movement, and with any organization that is genuinely committed to freedom, democracy, human rights, and the well-being of the Cuban people. Our principle has been clear: legitimate differences should not hinder cooperation among those who pursue the same fundamental goal, which is to put an end to tyranny and open the doors to a democratic Cuba.

Upon reaching this fifteenth anniversary, the Cuban Patriotic Union does not only reflect on what has been accomplished. It primarily looks ahead to what still needs to be done. UNPACU reaffirms its commitment to the struggle for Cuba's freedom and is working on new initiatives, methods, and strategies aimed at engaging as many Cubans as possible, both on the Island and abroad, to energize and enhance civic actions against tyranny and in favor of a democratic transition.

Fifteen years of persecution, imprisonment, beatings, torture, raids, and sacrifices have not succeeded in extinguishing our will. Nor have they diminished our calling to serve. Fighting for Cuba means confronting oppression and repression, but it also means feeding the hungry, assisting the sick, supporting the imprisoned, protecting the vulnerable, and never abandoning those in need of help.

On this anniversary, UNPACU invites every Cuban who wishes to make their best contribution, in a firm, committed, brave, and dignified manner, to join us in the struggle and strengthen the fight for a free, democratic, and prosperous Cuba. Fifteen years after that August 24, our commitment remains the same: freedom, democracy, human rights, and well-being for all the people of Cuba.