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. This organization, according to the director himself, works to support the resistance within Cuba, aiding 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 via 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 Ph.D. in 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 acclaimed writer
Those who know Boronat describe him as a devout Catholic, possessing an encyclopedic political culture and a deep knowledge of Cuban history. His work towards establishing democracy on the island has 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 in the process of pursuing an international trial against the Cuban government for such crimes.
Gutiérrez-Boronat added in his meeting with Trump that "Cuba is the base of communist occupation in Venezuela and Nicaragua. If the Cubans continue to receive support like what you are providing to free Cuba, the entire hemisphere will breathe better, including the United States."
In 2019, he delivered a series of lectures at the Catholic University and the Javeriana Pontifical University in Cali, alongside others, discussing the dangers of socialism.
Gutiérrez is also the director of the successful campaign to put an end to cruise tourism on 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 is also included in the list of exile leaders who, in 2019, publicly urged President Trump to fully enforce the Helms-Burton Act against foreign companies using goods expropriated by the Cuban government.
