This Wednesday, the beginning of the commemorations for the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence was celebrated in Havana.
HAVANA, Cuba. – “We regret that several of our guests were not able to come to this event; State Security has prevented them from doing so, but we will continue to support them, we will continue to support the Cuban people. Cuba will soon be free,” he said this Wednesday Mike Hammerhead of the United States mission in Cuba, during an event at his residence in Havana.
The meeting was held to mark the beginning of the commemorations for the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, a campaign called “Freedom 250” launched by President Donald Trump. On the Island, the start of the campaign coincided with the celebration of the birth of José Martí, the Cuban Apostle.
The event was attended by diplomatic representations, some relatives of political prisoners, accredited and independent foreign press, as well as Catholic and Christian leaders. Dozens of human rights activists were unable to attend because Cuban State Security prevented them from doing so through house arrests.
The diplomatic headquarters transmitted a message from Undersecretary of State, Cris Landau, who assured that the United States is “committed to supporting the ordinary Cuban people” and will continue “to insist that all political prisoners be released and that human rights be respected.”
“We hope that in 2026 Cubans will finally be able to exercise their fundamental freedoms. As President Trump has said, the Castro-communist regime is faltering, it will not last much longer. After 67 years of a failed revolution that has betrayed the Cuban people, it is time for the change that people on the Island aspire to,” he stated.
During the event, the documentary was premiered The night will not be eternalwhich tells several life stories of people involved in the protests of July 11, 2021 (11J). Two of its protagonists were able to attend the meeting: Father Alberto Reyes and the journalist from CubaNet Camila Acosta, who managed to evade the police cordon around her home and reach Hammer’s residence.
Acosta recalled that for more than six decades a criminal and mafia dictatorship had been imposed on the Island, which has been the cause of all the misery and repression.
“We Cubans have fought for decades for our freedom; the evidence is there: the biggest of them occurred on 11J, during the largest protest against the regime that resulted in hundreds of political prisoners. But, when we face a tyranny like this, with no weapons other than our words and bodies, and having them the power and weapons, we cannot do it alone, we need the support of the international community,” Acosta stated.
“What has happened in Venezuela with the capture of Maduro and the possibility of a transition to democracy has restored our hope in the freedom of Cuba,” added the journalist while thanking the Trump Administration and Marco Rubio for their support to the people of Cuba and Venezuela.
For his part, Father Alberto Reyes pointed out that “everything in life has a price: if we speak, if we remain silent, if we defend justice and God, everything has a price.”
The Catholic priest concluded with a message: “If we do nothing, that has mainly an internal price, but always a price. The purpose of life is not to be happy, it is not to walk without any problem or without any complicated situation. The purpose is to build a life with meaning, it is to make any action you take meaningful. We only have one life and it is quite short. We would all like to say ‘I did the right thing’. That is why I invite you to ask yourself: what should I do to become an effective blessing for this country here and now?”
