Cubans residing in the United States are preparing to gather this Thursday, October 1, in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., with a message directed at President Donald Trump: "Finish the job," referring to their demands for actions regarding Cuba.
The mobilization is part of the #DoItTrumpDoIt campaign and was initially called by Cuban presenter Alexander Otaola, who announced the date of the protest back in August and explained that it was deliberately chosen for a weekday, aimed at taking the demands to Washington while federal institutions are operational.
In recent days, various figures from the Cuban community have amplified the call to participate, including the comedian Aleanys Jáuregui, known in the artistic world as Cuqui la Mora, who urged her followers to travel to the U.S. capital.
«We are going to gather in Washington to demand actions from Donald Trump, not words. The more Cubans that join us, the better, because our voice will be heard much louder,» Cuquita expressed in a video posted on Facebook.
The artist connected her message to the deep crisis facing Cuba, mentioning the shortage of food and medicines, prolonged blackouts, lack of water, and the situation in hospitals.
He also highlighted those who remain imprisoned for political reasons and concluded his message by calling for "freedom for Cuba" and "freedom for political prisoners."
"Every grain of sand you contribute to freedom is felt and noticed, and Cuba needs it," he stated, before asking those who cannot travel to Washington to at least share the call.
The Cuban singer Osmani García also joined the call to gather in front of the White House. In his case, in addition to addressing the situation on the island, he raised another concern: the deportation of Cuban migrants from the United States.
García called for a halt to the repatriations of migrants to Cuba who, he argued, have worked and built a life in the United States.
The protest is also being linked on social media to the situation of political prisoners in Cuba and to specific cases within the island.
The Cuban Yau A. Salcedo, for example, recalled that on the same October 1st when Cubans will gather in Washington, Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente and her mother, Caridad Silvente, must appear before the People's Municipal Court of Havana del Este.
“On October 1st, there will be two stages and one Cuba”, wrote Salcedo, who called for the same demand to be heard both inside and outside the island: “freedom, rights, and justice for Cubans.”
The gathering in front of the White House comes after months of strong statements from Trump regarding Cuba. In March, the president even said from the White House that it would be "a great honor" for him "to take Cuba" and also raised the possibility of "liberating" it, amid rising tensions between Washington and Havana.
At the moment, public information about the gathering does not allow us to anticipate how many people will attend nor specify a start time, although the invitation has been circulating for weeks and has continued to circulate on social media in the days leading up to October 1.
The central message that its promoters aim to bring to the doors of the White House is for Washington to keep its focus on the situation in Cuba and adopt new measures, while calling for the release of political prisoners and political reforms on the island.
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