Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat is a Cuban political scientist born in Havana, Cuba in 1965, known for being the Secretary General of the NGO Cuban Democratic Directorate, which he co-founded in 1990. According to the director himself, this organization works to support the resistance within Cuba, aiding the various groups engaged in civic resistance against the Cuban communist regime. Additionally, the Directorate pays attention to the cases of the dozens of political prisoners on the island. The DDC has a radio station that has been broadcasting on shortwave to Cuba for 14 years: Radio República.
Gutiérrez Boronat, along with his family, settled in the United States from Cuba in 1971. He holds a PhD in Philosophy of International Studies from the University of Miami, as well as graduate degrees and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Communications from Florida International University. He is also a professor and an award-winning writer
Those who know Boronat describe him as a Catholic by conviction, possessing an encyclopedic political culture and a deep understanding of Cuban history. His efforts towards establishing democracy on the island have made him one of the most influential Cuban voices in the United States.
On July 10, 2020, he met with Donald Trump in Miami to request the "criminal prosecution of Raúl Castro Ruz and the establishment of an International Tribunal to judge Castroism for crimes against humanity." His organization is already pursuing an international trial against the government of Cuba for such crimes.
Gutiérrez-Boronat added during his meeting with Trump that "Cuba is the base of communist occupation in Venezuela and Nicaragua. If the Cubans continue to receive support like the one you are providing to liberate Cuba, the entire hemisphere will breathe easier, including the United States."
In 2019, along with others, he gave a series of lectures at the Catholic University and the Pontifical Javeriana University in Cali on the dangers of socialism.
Gutiérrez is also the director of the successful campaign to end cruise tourism to the Island.
In 2018, Bolsonaro met with the Cuban opposition figure whom he described as "one of the main whistleblowers of the atrocities committed by the Cuban dictatorship."
Boronat also makes the list of exile leaders who publicly requested in 2019 that President Trump enforce the full implementation of Helms-Burton against foreign companies that use goods expropriated by the Cuban government.
