Félix Navarro Rodríguez: a life dedicated to the freedom of Cuba

The most universal of Cubans, José Martí, said: “To honor is to be honored.” And today I want to honor, in this column for CiberCuba, a true Cuban hero. Today, the National Endowment for Democracy honors me by inviting me to accept the 2026 Democracy Award on behalf of my brother Félix Navarro.

I have a rule of not fully trusting anyone I haven’t lived with or seen react in various situations and under intense pressure. I never believe in the “heroes” manufactured by this or that media outlet or institution. I believe, like St. Thomas, in what I see, verify, or confirm.

That is why I believe, or more than believe, I am sure that the four-time prisoner of conscience Félix Navarro Rodríguez is not only one of the bravest and most honest Cuban patriots I have ever known, but I am also certain that there is no person in Cuba, on the entire continent, and on the whole planet who deserves this Democracy Award, the Sajarov and even the Nobel Peace Prize more than he does.

But who is Félix and why my categorical statement? Félix Navarro Rodríguez is one of the essential names in the Cuban civic resistance of the last four decades. A teacher by profession, a peaceful dissenter, a defender of human rights, and imprisoned multiple times for political reasons, his life represents the story of a man who has paid an extraordinarily high price for advocating the right of Cubans to live in freedom.

Félix was born on July 10, 1953, in Perico, Matanzas province, into a farming family. For over two decades, he worked as a teacher in primary and secondary education, eventually taking on the role of school principal. Those familiar with his background can better understand his political vocation stemming from that initial calling: to educate, train, and serve.

In the late 1980s, he began to express his disagreement with the political system imposed in Cuba more openly. He did not settle for remaining silent. He distributed critical messages and put up posters against the regime. Because of this activity, he was arrested in the early 1990s, charged with "enemy propaganda," and sentenced to three years in prison. He served about twenty months and, in addition, lost his right to continue working as a teacher.

But prison did not succeed in diverting him from the path he had chosen. After regaining his freedom, he continued to be involved in the democratic opposition. In 1999, he founded the Pedro Luis Boitel Democracy Movement, named in honor of the historic opposition figure who died in prison after a prolonged hunger strike. From Matanzas, Félix developed an intense civic effort based on citizen organization, denouncing human rights violations, and defending a democratic transition.

On March 18, 2003, he was arrested again during that major repressive operation that became known as the Black Spring of Cuba. Within a few weeks, 75 independent journalists, human rights defenders, and peaceful opponents were subjected to summary trials and sentenced to long prison terms.

Félix Navarro was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience, considering that he was incarcerated for peacefully exercising and defending fundamental rights.

This marked the beginning of one of the toughest periods of his life. He spent eight years in various Cuban prisons, far away from his family and subjected to the conditions that political prisoners endure on the Island. Even from behind bars, he continued to protest. He participated in hunger strikes and continued to denounce the abuses of the penitentiary system.

I spent 9 months in the provincial prison of Guantánamo, and there I learned about the respect and admiration that many had for him due to his firmness and courage. There is no better place to reveal the best and worst in a human being than a prison. In jail, masks fall away, and no one can sustain the facade of being someone they are not for long.

In 2010 and 2011, as a result of strong national and international pressure and mediation by the Catholic Church, the regime began to release members of the Group of 75. Many were offered the option to go directly to Spain.

Félix Navarro refused to accept exile as the price for his freedom and, alongside his brave daugher Saily Navarro, also a prisoner of conscience (Blessed is the father of such a daughter, fortunate is the daughter of such a father), his wife, the Lady in White Sonia Álvarez, and his brothers from the Party for Democracy “Pedro Luis Boitel,” continued their civic and humanitarian activism in their province and beyond.

In the following years, he suffered new arrests, surveillance, harassment, and repressive acts. However, he continued to organize and support those who demanded democracy. For a time, he also took on the presidency of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, UNPACU, because he is the brave, transparent, and generous leader that every good person wishes to have as a guide.

Then came July 11, 2021. When thousands of Cubans took to the streets in dozens of locations shouting for freedom and demanding political change, Félix once again stood with those who were protesting. He was arrested on July 12, 2021, and subsequently sentenced to nine years of imprisonment, charged with offenses such as public disorder, contempt, and assault. His daughter Saily was arrested the next day and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

On January 16, 2025, he was released in a process of negotiated releases mediated by the Vatican. However, that freedom turned out to be extraordinarily fragile. After months of surveillance, detentions, and pressure, on April 29, 2025, the authorities of the Cuban regime revoked his release and sent him back to prison.

Currently, at 73 years old, Félix Navarro remains incarcerated in the Agüica prison in Colón, Matanzas. Human Rights organizations have expressed serious concern for his health, his periods of isolation, and the conditions of his imprisonment. Amnesty International continues to regard him as a prisoner of conscience and demands his immediate and unconditional release.

In April 2026, reports also emerged of a severe beating suffered inside the prison, while family members and activists raised concerns about the deterioration of his physical condition. 

This year, the National Endowment for Democracy, NED, selected Félix Navarro, along with Maykel Castillo Pérez, “Osorbo,” and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, among the honorees of its prestigious 2026 Democracy Award, recognizing their courage in defending fundamental freedoms in the face of repression.

The biography of Félix Navarro cannot be measured solely by counting years, sentences, or imprisonments. It can be measured by the times he had the opportunity to remain silent and chose to speak. The times he could have abandoned the path and decided to continue. The times the regime tried to turn prison into an instrument of surrender and found before it a man willing to resist like few can.

From schoolteacher to prisoner of conscience; from the Black Spring of 2003 to the protests of July 11, 2021; from one Cuban prison to another, Félix Navarro Rodríguez has devoted much of his life to a significant cause: that Cubans can live with freedom, dignity, and well-being, freely choose our government, express our ideas without fear, and live under a state where no one is imprisoned for thinking differently.

Félix remains behind bars and barbed wire in a hellish communist prison. That is why his story cannot end with a simple biography. It must conclude with a demand:

Immediate and unconditional freedom for Félix Navarro Rodríguez and for all Cuban political prisoners! Freedom for Cuba!