A Cuban Minister’s Gaffe Adds Insult to Injury
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In the midst of Cuba’s “policrisis,” what Cuban sociologist Mayra Espina has defined as the confluence of economic collapse, mass migration, worsening shortages, and social fatigue, Cuba’s Minister of Labor and Social Security, María Elena Feitó Cabrera, asserted that there weren’t beggars in Cuba. What exists instead, she claimed, are people “disguised” as beggars. "We have seen people who appear to be beggars; when you look at their hands, when you look at the clothes they wear, those people are disguised as beggars. They are not beggars, there are no beggars in Cuba," stated Feitó Cabrera during an official session of Cuba’s parliament.
Video of Feitó Cabrera’s remarks made swift rounds on the internet and across Cuban and world media. Cuba’s most famous comedian Pánfilo, Luis Silva, posted a song that featured lyrics with Feitó Cabrera’s remarks. The widespread anger prompted a rare rebuke by Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who posted on X, without naming names, “The lack of sensitivity in the approach to vulnerability is very troubling. The revolution cannot leave anyone behind.” Feitó Cabrera resigned from her post one day after her comments went viral.
Meanwhile, Sandro Castro, grandson of Fidel, continues to draw attention by showcasing his privileged lifestyle and unconventional antics on social media.
This comes on the fourth anniversary of the July 11th anti-government protests that shook the island and resulted in the imprisonment of 1,584 Cubans, over 700 of whom remain imprisoned despite a Vatican-brokered deal that led to the release of around 200 in March. On the anniversary, Cuba’s government preemptively barred nearly all public and religious gatherings.
In a largely symbolic move, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Cuban dissidents on the anniversary of July 11. Notably, the meeting was virtual, as the US has made it nearly impossible for Cuban activists to leave the country due to travel restrictions and consular closures. The State Department has even sent deportation notices to Cuban dissidents in the US and continues to enforce harsh immigration policies that keep families apart and bar dissidents from reaching safety while Administration officials characterize migrants as a “bunch of criminals.”
Travel restrictions and the suspension of U.S. consular services (which includes the lack of a refugee section) in Havana further complicate the mobility of Cuban citizens, including rendering civil society leaders and activists unable to participate in international exchanges or emigrate to the US through regular pathways.
These dynamics are unfolding in the context of a prolonged and overlapping national crisis. Cuba’s power grid is on the verge of collapse with the government only able to meet 50 to 70 percent of the island’s energy needs. Blackouts are frequent. The island’s economy has declined by 11 percent in the past five years, per government figures. At the same time, infant mortality rates, once the pride of the Cuban health care system, are rising against the backdrop of a rapidly aging population, deepening the country’s growing care crisis.
What this moment reveals is not only the disconnect between official narratives and lived reality, but the urgent need for both the Cuban and U.S. governments to reckon with their failures. While Cuban officials dismiss poverty and criminalize dissent, the U.S. continues to enforce sweeping sanctions, restrict mobility, and withhold protection, even from those they claim to support.
See updated Cuban migration information and data here.
This week in Cuba news…
Representatives Salazar and Escobar Reintroduce the Dignity Act
Representatives María Elvira Salazar (FL-27) and Veronica Escobar (TX-16) reintroduced the Dignity Act on July 15 alongside 18 cosponsors, nine from each side of the aisle. The first version of the bill was introduced in 2023 and managed to garner 38 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle.
One key provision for Cubans is the changes proposed for those with I-220A status. The bill states that Cubans in the US who were released into the country “on recognizance," which includes I-220A holders, on or before January 31, 2023, will be considered to have been paroled into the US. This allows Cubans to adjust their status under the Cuban Adjustment Act. This issue has long plagued the Cuban community as over 500,000 Cubans are in the US with I-220A documentation, placing them in legal limbo and at risk for detention and deportation.
Another component of the bill outlines a “Dignity Program” that provides a seven-year temporary status to undocumented immigrants who have been in the US for more than five years, provided they pass a criminal background check. Recipients would have to pay $7,000 in restitution over the seven years, have regular check-ins with the DHS, and would be ineligible for federal benefits. The program would provide no path to citizenship.
After participants complete the seven year program, they would be granted “Dignity Status” which would allow recipients to receive another seven year visa which is indefinitely renewable. Individuals would no longer have to pay restitution or check in with the DHS on a regular basis. Recipients continue to be ineligible for federal benefits or entitlements.
The bill also proposes changes at the border, for Dreamers/DACA recipients, a child reunification program, and much more. For more details on the bill, you can read the National Immigration Forum’s explainer.
Cubans Among the 900 Detained at “Alligator Alcatraz”
Cuban reggaeton artist Leamsy Izquierdo, known by his stage name Leamsy La Figura, has spoken out about his detention in Florida’s controversial detention facility located deep in the Everglades. Izquierdo says he was transferred there on July 4 after being arrested two days earlier for aggravated assault.
Although it has not been officially confirmed, Izquierdo’s partner, Katia, says he is a legal permanent resident of the United States, highlighting the heightened risks non-citizens face when arrested under the current immigration enforcement climate.
In an interview with Telemundo 51, Izquierdo described alarming conditions inside the facility. “It’s about minus two degrees… Everyone is in T-shirts, shaking, screaming their heads off. This is hell,” he said. He also reported that detainees are only fed once a day, claiming the food “has worms in it,” and that there has been no water to shower.
Other detainees have echoed his concerns. Vladimir Miranda, another Cuban national detained at the facility, told Telemundo 51 that power outages have become frequent. “The generators apparently can’t cope and the electricity goes out. When that happens, there’s no water, no phones, and the air conditioning stops. We’re here sweating profusely.” Miranda entered the US by crossing the US–Mexico border, where he was issued an I-220A form. His girlfriend, Eveling Ortiz, reported that he has had no access to an immigration attorney since his detainment.
On July 12, a group of lawmakers were given a limited tour of the facility. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) reported that migrants are “essentially packed into cages, wall-to-wall humans, 32 detainees per cage” and each detainee is given color-coded wristbands to identify those with criminal convictions. Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10) reported that one detainee shouted out to politicians that he was a U.S. citizen.
Republican lawmakers on the tour have pushed back against allegations of decrepit facilities. Republican Florida State Senator Blaise Ingoglia attended the tour and later stated “The idea that the detainees are in there and they’re in squalid conditions is just not accurate.” The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) has also denied any wrongdoing.
The Florida State government has refused to release a list of the people held at the facility or release official numbers of how many people are kept in its cells. Employees at the facility told lawmakers that roughly 900 migrants are being detained on site.
US Sanctions Díaz-Canel and Prohibits U.S. Travelers from Staying at 11 Hotels in Cuba
On the four-year anniversary of the July 11 protests in Cuba, the U.S. Department of State imposed sanctions on President Díaz-Canel, Defense Minister Alvaro López Miera, and Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas and their immediate family members for their involvement in “gross violations of human rights.” This is the first step being taken to implement President Donald Trump’s June 30 National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) aimed at strengthening the policy of the US toward Cuba. We covered the NSPM in more detail in our last news brief.
Notably, President Díaz-Canel has only traveled to the US twice during his tenure—both times to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2018 and 2023—and has not had any official visits or meetings on U.S. territory. As such, the announced sanctions are unlikely to have any material impact on him or his ministers.
The State Department is also sanctioning Cuban judicial and prison officials involved in the detention and torture of July 2021 protestors. However, due to issues of immigration confidentiality regulations, the State Department cannot publicly name those sanctioned.
Additionally, the State Department has added eleven properties to its Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List (CPA List), seven of which they have also added to the List of Restricted Entities and Sub entities Associated With Cuba (Cuba Restricted List) for their alleged links to Cuba’s government and GAESA, the Spanish acronym for Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., the economic branch of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces. U.S. travelers are prohibited from staying at any of the hotels on the CPA List. Additionally, for the seven entities also added to the Cuba Restricted List, the U.S. Department of Commerce will deny applications to export or re-export items for their use.
These changes will further harm the Cuban tourism industry and its already decimated economy, which has declined by 11 percent over the past five years. Official numbers show that tourism in Cuba has decreased by 30 percent in 2025.
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez responded on X, stating the US “does not have the capacity to bend the will of its people or its leaders.” Johana Tablada de la Torre, the Deputy Director of the U.S. division at Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), also spoke out on X, calling Mr. Rubio a “defender of genocide, prisons and mass deportations.” The US asserts these changes have been made “In solidarity with the Cuban people and the island’s political prisoners.”
Trump Administration Detains Foreigners from 26 Countries at Guantánamo
On July 8, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the Trump administration had detained foreigners from 26 different countries at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base. The statements from DHS confirm earlier reporting from CBS that the Administration had recently transferred immigration detainees who were nationals of African, Asian, European, and Caribbean countries to the detention facilities at Guantánamo. The statements further reveal that detainees from every continent other than Antarctica are being held in the Guantánamo Bay detention facilities.
DHS shared a list of more than two dozen examples of detainees, sharing their nationalities, names, and alleged criminal histories. The detainees who are categorized as “high-risk” by DHS are held in Camp IV, the post 9/11 prison complex at Guantánamo Bay. Other “low-risk” detainees are held at the Migrant Operations Center, originally established to intercept migrants in the Caribbean. As of July 8, there were 72 immigration-related detainees at Guantánamo Bay, with 58 of them being categorized “high-risk” and 14 of them being “low risk.”
Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates Spike in Cuba
Cuba’s infant mortality rate has surged to 8.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in the first half of 2025, up from 7.4 during the same period in 2024, according to newly released figures from Cuba’s Health Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda. If the trend continues, 2025 could mark the highest infant mortality rate on the island in a quarter century, surpassing even the peak levels recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
Maternal mortality is also on the rise. Sixteen pregnant women are known to have died so far this year, translating to a rate of 56.3 deaths per 100,000 live births—well above last year’s rate of 37.4. Across the region, maternal mortality rates range from 10 in Chile to 328 in Haiti, per 100,000 live births.
Cuban Authorities Restrict Religious Activity on Anniversary of July 11 Protests
Days before the anniversary of the July 11, 2021 protests, Cuban authorities told churches across the country to limit religious activities on July 11. Religious leaders were warned to avoid large gatherings and not to allow the families of political prisoners to attend services. Some registered churches were outright denied permission to organize any special activities, such as concerts, despite having no connection to the July 11 demonstrations.
Reverend Enrique Fundora Pérez, an exiled Cuban pastor, reported “Our contacts with families [of political prisoners] who attend churches and various key pastors have informed us that, as in previous years, they cannot travel outside their municipality. Christian family members of prisoners cannot leave their homes that day. Furthermore, services that attract more than 50 or 100 people must be canceled.”
These restrictions were not uniformly applied. Authorities have primarily targeted churches that they perceive as more activist or resistant to government pressure, particularly those located outside Havana. The selective enforcement appeared aimed at preventing any potential resurgence of protest activity tied to the anniversary.
Cuba Adds to Its National Terrorist List
On July 9, Cuba’s government presented an update to the national list of terrorists and confirmed the list had been sent to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres. Originally established in 2023, the list had included 61 individuals and 19 entities and organizations. The new list now includes 62 individuals and 20 organizations, with government officials explaining that individuals that died within the past year were removed and others were added.
The individuals on the list include people being investigated for explosions of hotels in Cuba in the 90s, opposition leaders, and influencers on social media platforms. Cuba’s Ministry of Interior wrote on X that it “denounces the impunity of terrorists operating from the U.S. for over 60 years.” During a press conference on Wednesday, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, criticized the US for its inaction and lack of collaboration with Cuba in anti-terrorism efforts.
The breakdown of collaboration between the US and Cuba on terrorism reflects the analysis provided by William LeoGrande, Professor of Government at the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C, who wrote in Foreign Policy that the Trump administration has “broken off all substantive diplomatic dialogue with the Cuban government.” Despite a lack of cooperation, Cuban authorities expressed that they continue to send data regarding people and entities on the national lists of terrorists to their U.S. counterparts.
Recommended Reading, Viewing, Events:
Watch | Webinar: Getting to a Pragmatic Cuba Policy for the United States
July 22 2–3pm
This webinar will discuss the brief and broader questions, including Washington’s global approach to sanctions. It will include the authors and Joy Gordon, the Ignacio Ellacuría, S.J. Chair in Social Ethics in the Philosophy Department at Loyola University-Chicago. Sarang Shidore, director of the Global South program at the Quincy Institute, will moderate the conversation.
Read | Foreign Policy: Trump Appears to Move off Regime Change Approach to Cuba
Read | The Nation: What Trump’s Cuba Policy Should Be to Advance US Interests
Read | Responsible Statescraft: Trump lifted sanctions on Syria. Now do Cuba.
Read | The Nation: Will the Trump Administration Face Headwinds as It Tightens the Noose Around Cuba? (Yes.)
Read | El País (Spanish): Sandro's Cuba is not Castro's Cuba: this is Fidel's 'influencer' grandson
Read | IEEE Spectrum: Cuba’s Power Grid Nears Total Failure
