The Cuban People Are Not America’s Enemy: A Cuban American’s Call For Peace and Normalization.
Every day we hear calls to end hatred, promote peace, and resolve conflicts through dialogue. If those principles truly matter, then they should apply everywhere—including Cuba.
For more than seventy years, the United States has maintained a policy of economic pressure against Cuba through the blockade, financial restrictions, travel limitations, and other sanctions. The current administration reinstated and expanded many of those restrictions in the most cruelest and inhumane way possible
Many Cubans, Cuban Americans and American Citizens believe these policies have become increasingly and inhumanly severe, affecting trade, banking, fuel supplies, transportation, and international commerce. We also believe the greatest burden falls on the ordinary Cuban families.
For many of us, our parents, children, relatives, and lifelong friends still live on the island. Like people everywhere, we want peace, stability, prosperity, and the right for Cubans to determine their own future without outside pressure or hostility.
The hardships facing Cuba today are undeniable. Millions endure prolonged power outages, shortages, and economic hardship. From my perspective, and from conversations with my family and friends who continue to live in Cuba, the tightening of the blockade has significantly worsened the island’s humanitarian and energy crisis.
Some U.S. policymakers, including Senator Marco Rubio, Mr. Mike Waltz, the current Administration, and some Miami-based organizations believe that maintaining or increasing sanctions will promote political change in Cuba. I respectfully disagree.
The blockade has affected international trade, banking, shipping, investment, travel, and access to fuel. Many humanitarian organizations, religious groups, businesses, and Cuban-American families have argued that these restrictions also make humanitarian assistance and family support more difficult.
Supporting better relations between the United States and Cuba does not make us less Cuban or American. Loving Cuba does not require political uniformity. It means caring about the well-being of the Cuban people. No matter what differences may exist in our political beliefs, many Cubans and Americans share the same hope: a Cuba living in peace, free from the blockade, respected as a sovereign nation, and able to choose its own path without outside coercion.
This is not about choosing between the US and Cuba. It is about choosing peace over permanent conflict, dialogue over isolation, and mutual respect over hostility. I believe the American people and the Cuban people have far more in common than the politics that have divided our governments for generations. The American people are not our enemies, and the Cuban people should not be treated as theirs. I believe both nations can coexist peacefully, cooperate in areas of mutual interest, and build a future based on dialogue, respect, friendship, and understanding—not fear, punishment, or hatred.
I also believe that a relationship based on mutual respect and peaceful engagement would better serve the interests of both nations than another generation of hostility. Political differences should be addressed through dialogue, diplomacy, and peaceful engagement—not through policies that increase the suffering of ordinary citizens. Cuba’s future should ultimately be decided by Cubans themselves.
If we truly believe that hatred is not the answer, then that principle must also apply to Cuba.
As Cubans, Cuban Americans and American Citizens, our message is simple:
Senator Marco Rubio, you do NOT speak on behalf of All Cubans, Cuban Americans and US Citizens!
Mr. Mike Waltz, you do NOT stand with the Cuban People…. HANDS OFF CUBA!
Mr. Trump, you do NOT stand with the Cuban People…LIFT THE BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA!
We want dialogue based on mutual respect. We want peace instead of confrontation. We want cooperation instead of isolation. We want the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba. After more than seventy years of conflict, it is time to replace hostility with diplomacy, punishment with engagement, and division with respect. Only through dialogue—not hatred—can both nations build a future based on peace, friendship, cooperation, and mutual respect.