Cuban-American journalist Roberto Rodríguez Tejera, former director of Radio Martí, issued a direct criticism of the Cuban opposition leadership in an interview with journalist Tania Costa. Live on CiberCuba, he stated that a significant number of those claiming to be opponents are, in fact, employees of the United States government.
"Unfortunately, much of the opposition leadership at this moment consists of employees of the United States; they are not true opponents. They survive on the salary paid to them by the government of the United States," declared Rodríguez Tejera on Tuesday.
According to the former director of Radio Martí, these leaders not only receive salaries from Washington, but they also travel with U.S. funds and are received in embassies around the world at the direct request of the U.S. Embassy.
Tania Costa clarified that external financing to the opposition is not a crime in itself, and recalled that a similar situation occurred with the dissident movements in Eastern Europe, supported by the European Union. "There is no crime in that; it is rather the regime's narrative," she noted. However, Rodríguez Tejera drew a clear line: "One thing is to be supportive, and another thing is to be employed."
The point that he considers truly unacceptable is another: that the Cuban opposition has no voice in the negotiations that define the island's future. "What is unacceptable is that we do not have a seat at that table. I believe it is unacceptable for the United States and the regime to be the ones deciding Cuba's future," he stated.
This criticism is particularly relevant in the current context. Trump stated before the UN that Marco Rubio continues to negotiate with Cuba, although Havana has denied that any formal talks are underway. In any case, the Cuban opposition has been excluded from these contacts while the Díaz-Canel regime demands dialogue "without interference or preconditions."
To illustrate the contrast with the current moment, Rodríguez Tejera referred to the thaw during the Obama era. He acknowledged that those negotiations also excluded the opposition and had "serious limitations and serious problems," but he emphasized a fundamental difference: the aim then was to open the Cuban economy, which created real opportunities for many citizens. "There was a hope for change. There was a hope that through my efforts I might be able to resolve things," he recalled.
The current negotiation, according to its analysis, points in the opposite direction: to close the Cuban economy following the Venezuelan model, without real democratization or participation from civil society.
Rodríguez Tejera directed Radio Martí from November 1997, during Bill Clinton's second term and the height of Cuba's special period. The outlet was operationally closed in March 2025 due to cuts by the Trump administration to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), although a federal judge ordered the restoration of its operations weeks later.
In the same interview, the journalist also questioned the effectiveness of the very media outlet he directed. In the interview with CiberCuba, he stated that Radio Martí has a budget of 40 million dollars but garners between five and ten times fewer listeners than CiberCuba, which operates with infinitely smaller resources. "Unfortunately, in many cases, Radio Martí ends up broadcasting for Miami, not for Cuba, in a language that Cubans no longer accept," he concluded.
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