[Witness spoke in Spanish, interpreted as follows:]
What crime have these people committed? None. They simply exercised their peaceful right to express themselves, to demonstrate or to think differently. All of them were convicted without the guarantee of due process by judges affiliated with the Communist Party of Cuba, who follow the dictates of the political police.
In 2025, we also documented at least 875 violations of religious freedom while the state continued to deny legal recognition to hundreds of independent religious movements. This not only constitutes a violation of freedom of association, but also hinders the humanitarian work that these communities carry out on behalf of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.
Furthermore, our eighth report on the state of social rights, published in 2025 and based on more than 1,300 interviews conducted across 70 municipalities throughout the island, documents an unprecedented social catastrophe.
Today, 89% of Cuban families live in extreme poverty. Seven out of 10 Cubans acknowledge having gone without food at some point due to shortages. Among the elderly, the situation is even more heartbreaking. Eight out of 10 people over the age of 61 have had to forgo breakfast, lunch or dinner. Only 15 out of every 100 households have consistent access to safe drinking water. Faced with such hopelessness, 78% of Cubans want to emigrate. Entire generations no longer dream of building their country; they dream of escaping it.
All of this has occurred while the ruling elite has continued to conduct business around the world, with the conglomerate accumulating assets estimated at $18 billion—figures that the U.S. Department of State places at as much as $20 billion.
Honourable members, there is a truth that this committee must hear honestly. We did not arrive at this situation solely because of the will of the oppressors. We also got to this point because governments in the free world for decades chose to sign agreements, extend credit or receive the perpetrators with state honours. Every handshake normalized the dictatorship. It became [Technical difficulty—Editor].
I agree with the Cuban Canadians Coalition when it states [Technical difficulty—Editor]. Likewise, I can say that when I was unjustly imprisoned for promoting a civic initiative that was fully grounded in law, every gesture of international solidarity was, for me and my family, a breath of fresh air and a reaffirmation of my human dignity.
Therefore, I urge this Parliament to explicitly recognize the existence of political prisoners in Cuba and to demand their immediate and unconditional release. [Technical difficulty—Editor].
I would like to allow, if I may, one final request, which is also a matter of justice. Sooner or later, Cuba will be free, and the victims of the Castro regime will have the right to reparation. I therefore invite this Parliament and all governments that for decades sustained, financed or legitimized the regime to contribute to the creation of an international reparations fund for the victims of the Cuban regime.
Those who supported the regime when it was putting its own citizens into prison need to do something that goes beyond words and show concrete acts of reparation. A freedom that does not repair the harm suffered by its victims remains incomplete.
Cubans are not asking for charity. They're asking for the very same principles that you defend every day here in this committee: the right to choose those who govern them, the right to live in freedom.
Thank you very much.