The Cuban researcher and essayist Hilda Landrove published an analysis on Facebook this Saturday, in which she denounces those who defend the Cuban dictatorship as an "alternative to imperialism," labeling them as accomplices of the regime and, at the same time, functional to the imperialism they claim to combat.
"I don't know if they realize it, or if they do but pretend not to, but those who defend a dictatorship as an alternative to imperialism are as much complicit in the dictatorships as they are functional to imperialism," wrote Landrove in the post.
The text challenges the argument, commonly found among sectors of the Latin American left, that the end of the U.S. embargo would resolve the Cuban crisis. For Landrove, this stance "deliberately denies the structural nature of the Cuban catastrophe" and, in the process, undermines the legitimacy of the opposition to a regime that "continues to exist, among many reasons, due to the refusal of a large part of the international community to acknowledge that what the Latin American narrative calls revolution, a beacon of America and a utopian horizon, is today a brutal dictatorship."
The academic identifies three causes of Cuban suffering: an economic policy that is "fundamentally parasitic, focused on accumulation for the elite," resulting in the dismantling of the state; the impact of sanctions systematically transferred to the poorest sectors while the regime ensures its own survival; and "a daily, brutal, and systematic repression that does not lack for a liter of gasoline."
As an illustration of this repression, it was noted that on Friday, nearly 20 people were detained or prevented from leaving their homes by the political police, and that more than a thousand Cubans are languishing in prison for protesting, posting on social media, or hosting a program critical of the regime. This figure is backed by documentation: according to a report by Prisoners Defenders published on September 10, Cuba closed August with 1,339 political prisoners, a historical record that includes 155 women and 458 individuals with serious illnesses.
In response to those who propose that the regime itself lead a transition, Landrove is emphatic: "The current context is very difficult; a situation where the desirable solutions no longer exist. And no, a desirable solution is not for the very regime that brought us to this point to lead a transformation that allows them to change a few things without relinquishing power." She further warns that pressure from the United States could end in an arrangement among elites, and that "apart from saying 'Down with the blockade,' no international actor is trying to pressure for what really matters: the end of the regime."
The analysis is part of a sustained trajectory of critical reflection throughout 2026. In May, Landrove published in Rialta Magazine the essay "Cuba: the totalitarian clamp and the desire for change that is sabotaged but intact", which had previously been rejected by a progressive European magazine that demanded a condemnation of Trump's policies before allowing any criticism of the regime. In July, she described Cuba as a "concentration camp" and pointed to the Castro regime as "the main responsible party" for the devastation. In June, she stated that the economic reforms announced by Díaz-Canel arrived "poorly and late" and that "the system is not reformable" due to a lack of political will.
The debate has concrete and timely expressions. The president of the Communist Youth of Chile recently stated that she does not consider Cuba a dictatorship, while in Spain, leftist parties refused to acknowledge the regime on the Island as a dictatorship in parliamentary votes held this year.
Landrove concludes its publication by rejecting the idea that the tragic nature of the context can serve as an excuse to shield the regime: "The context is fundamentally tragic. However, this cannot mean contributing to portraying a criminal regime as a poor victim. […] Every time they do this, they choose to become, time and again, accomplices of our oppressors."
Related videos:
Filed under: