Miami/The Lady in White Leticia Ramos was forced to return to the United States this Monday, after the Cuban regime denied her entry to the Island. The activist, who had traveled to Cuba accompanied by her mother, to whom she could not say goodbye, arrived at the Miami airport (Florida) without her suitcase, confiscated in Havana, and visibly affected. “It is unfair that they do not let me enter my own country, that they treat you as if you were an animal, a zero, that you have no right to anything,” he lamented before various media that were waiting for her in the terminal.
In that same impromptu appearance, she said that upon arriving in Havana, the immigration authorities sent her “to a room” and told her that she had “problems” with her document, which she denied. “If I had had problems with my document, the American Government would not have allowed me to emigrate,” he explained.
According to his story, he argued with State Security officials that the attended a rude “exchange of words,” which escalated to the point of threatening to sedate her if she did not “shut her mouth.”
“They didn’t even let me kiss my mother,” said the activist on the verge of tears. “That is something that has to be experienced, I still have a lot of pain”
After being informed that she would not be able to enter her country, Ramos asked to say goodbye to her mother, Amada Rosa Herrería, who at 86 years old is the oldest Lady in White of the opposition organization, but she was not allowed. “They didn’t even let me kiss my mother,” said the activist on the verge of tears. “That is something that has to be experienced, I still have a lot of pain,” he added.
The political police also prevented him from taking his belongings. “They kept everything,” she denounced, and said, pointing to her handbag: “The only thing I have is this, they didn’t let me take the luggage, it was something very frustrating, very difficult and very hard.”
Asked how she wanted to return to the Island, with the critical situation of fuel shortage, which is forcing the Government to take drastic savings measures, Ramos asserted: “Whoever knows me knows that I wanted to return days ago. I want to be in my country for whatever happens, I want to be part of that change, of that freedom that we long for.”
after nine years regulated, without being able to leave the islandthe Lady in White received a humanitarian visa last year, valid for five years, to treat health problems in the United States. “I was in treatment here and thank God I have improved a lot,” he also told reporters. “If I stayed in Cuba, maybe I wouldn’t be telling the story now, because there they gave me another diagnosis.”
“I want to be in my country for whatever happens, I want to be part of that change, of that freedom that we long for”
However, she reiterated her desire to return to her country, refusing to use the word “banished.” “I am neither going to ask for asylum nor am I going to ask for refuge,” he stated. “I am going to demand and protest that I be given my right to return to my country, because that is where I am going to live.”
Ramos is convinced that “a change is coming” and stated that “they”, referring to the regime, are trying by all means to prevent everyone who may be an obstacle for them from entering the Island.
In the midst of an unprecedented energy crisis in the country, the regime has reacted by toughening repression. An example was the operation by the Police and State Security to arrest Ernesto Medina and Kamil Zayas in Holguín last Friday. members of the independent digital project El4tico.
The arrests of these young people were denounced this Monday by the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), which stated that the arrests constitute “a new violation of the human right to freedom of expression” and demanded the “immediate release and cessation of the persecution against those who peacefully exercise their right to inform, give an opinion and promote critical thinking on the Island.”
“Repression is not a good backdrop for negotiations”
For its part, the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) also condemned in a statement the repression of the founders of El4tico, as well as the harassment that does not stop against Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White.
“The repression against freedom of expression, demonstration and religion must stop,” urged the NGO, based in Madrid. “Repression is not a good backdrop for negotiations. Cuba can no longer be a prison island. International solidarity is essential to stop this tyranny, now.”
In its most recent report, corresponding to January 2026, the OCDH recorded at least 390 repressive actions against the civilian population, including 42 arbitrary arrests, 112 police sieges of homes, 85 threats and 78 police summonses. This rebound, the organization concludes, “reflects the regime’s hysteria in the face of the economic and social crisis.”
