While 94% of Cubans live in extreme poverty, blackouts exceed 20 hours a day in some areas of the island, and the regime holds over 1,300 political prisoners, leftist groups from Latin America are preparing to travel to Cuba to demonstrate that the Cuban people "are not alone."
This was reported this Sunday by the official news agency Prensa Latina when announcing the call for the "1st International Brigade Fidel Castro Ruz", organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Solidarity with Cuba and Just Causes, scheduled to take place from November 24 to December 7.
The initiative circulates on digital platforms under the slogan "We're Going Back to Cuba" and is set against a backdrop of commemorations that the regime has been exploiting throughout the year: the centennial of Fidel Castro's birth, the tenth anniversary of his death—which falls on November 25—and the 70th anniversary of the landing of the Granma yacht, which took place on December 2, 1956.
The National Assembly declared 2026 as the "Year of the Centennial of the Commander in Chief" in December 2025, at the proposal of Miguel Díaz-Canel.
In Argentina, the Argentine Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (MASCuba) will take on national coordination. Norberto Galiotti, a liaison for friendship with the Cuban government in Rosario and a member of the Communist Party, explained to the state media that MASCuba "as a space for articulating and coordinating solidarity actions in the country will be responsible for its promotion and implementation in Argentina."
The stated goal, according to Galiotti, is "to ensure that at least one companion from each province of the country is present in this Brigade." The activist also announced confirmations from several countries in the region and expressed his hopes: "We hope that those from North America and Europe will join us as well."
Liliana Perna, another member of MASCuba in charge of coordination, raised her voice with Prensa Latina: "What is significant about this brigade is that there will be participants from all continents to pay tribute to Commander Fidel Castro Ruz on the 10th anniversary of his passing into immortality."
He concluded with a statement that left no doubt about the political nature of the trip: "It will be a universal outcry against the genocidal blockade of the United States government." Perna also announced a second brigade, the South American Solidarity Brigade with Cuba, scheduled for January-February 2027.
The designed itinerary is worthy of a revolutionary tour of ideological luxury. The brigadistas will stay at the Julio Antonio Mella International Camp (CIJAM) in Caimito, Artemisa province. On November 25, there will be a cultural event at the steps of the University of Havana; on the 26th and 27th, they will engage in volunteer work and visit the Fidel Castro Ruz Center.
They will then travel to Santiago de Cuba for an event on November 30, a discussion about Fidel on December 3, and the following day, a march to the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery. The journey will conclude at the Santiago headquarters of the Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos (ICAP), sanctioned by Washington in June 2026 for being considered a node of influence and intelligence for the regime.
What the brigadistas will not find on the official itinerary is real Cuba: the country facing the worst economic decline in Latin America in 2026, with an estimated GDP contraction between 6.5% and 10.3%, a fierce repression of any dissent, and a parasitic bureaucracy entrenched in power.
Perna insisted that the visit will be "a demonstration that Cuba is not alone." An assertion that, ironically, is much easier to support from Buenos Aires than from any Cuban municipality without electricity, food, or medicine.
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