The Embassy of the United States to the Holy See welcomed Rosa María Payá on Thursday in a formal high-level diplomatic meeting in Rome, reaffirming its commitment to the Cuban people in their pursuit of freedom and fundamental rights.
The diplomatic mission published on its official account on X a statement in which it referred to it as an "honor" to welcome the Cuban activist and hear the story of her father, Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, whom it described as "a man of deep Catholic faith" who "advocated for free expression, free elections, and the release of political prisoners in Cuba."
"Today, Rosa María carries that legacy forward. We remain committed to being with the Cuban people in their pursuit of freedom and fundamental liberties," the embassy stated, emphasizing that "faith and the defense of human dignity go hand in hand."
The meeting in Rome carries a particular symbolic weight: Oswaldo Payá was the founder of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) and the Varela Project, peaceful opposition initiatives inspired by Catholicism that gathered over 11,000 signatures to demand democratic reforms in Cuba. The Church was a central space of support for his activism for decades.
The visit takes place during a week of intense international activity for Rosa María Payá. This Friday, she received the XIII FAES Prize for Freedom in Madrid, shared with Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexéi Navalny, and Iranian activist Masih Alinejad, in recognition that elevates Cuban civic resistance to the same symbolic level as the Russian and Iranian movements on the European stage.
In Madrid, Payá delivered a message of hope: "Cuba is closer to freedom than many imagine."
Founder of Cuba Decide and commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for the period 2026-2029 —the first person of Cuban origin to join that body—, Payá has intensified her diplomatic pressure on the regime in recent months.
In September, Rosa María Payá accused Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez of having "stained" hands with crimes against humanity, in response to a meeting the minister had with the UN High Commissioner Volker Türk.
The international context is one of maximum pressure on Havana. With just 12 days until the vote in the UN General Assembly on the annual resolution calling for an end to the US embargo against Cuba —scheduled for October 28— a coalition of over 1,000 opposition organizations has urged democracies to vote against or abstain. Prisoners Defenders recorded 1,351 political prisoners in Cuba as of the end of September, including 40 detained when they were minors.
The death of Oswaldo Payá in July 2012, alongside activist Harold Cepero, remains an unresolved matter. In June 2023, the IACHR concluded that there were "serious and sufficient indications" of direct involvement by Cuban state agents in both deaths, attributing international responsibility to the Cuban state.
Payá announced in Madrid that the plan resulting from the Liberation Agreement for Cuba —signed in Miami in March 2026 and ratified in Madrid in May— will be presented during the XXX Ibero-American Summit on November 3, 2026.
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