The Cuban-American congresswoman described Payá as “a symbol of resistance” and “dignity.”
MIAMI, United States. – Cuban-American Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) announced this Monday that Rosa María Payá will be his guest at the State of the Union Address that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, will deliver this Tuesday, February 24, before a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol.
The congresswoman also linked the young Cuban, founder of the citizen initiative Cuba Decide, with her father’s opposition career, Oswaldo Paya: “His father faced the Cuban dictatorship and paid a high price for not kneeling in the face of fear.”
In his publication, Salazar also assured: “I have no doubts: the regime is living its last hours. The Cuban people lost fear, and when a people loses fear, no tyranny survives. The cry for freedom can no longer be silenced.”
The congresswoman added that Payá will be “in the United States Congress, as a symbol of resistance, dignity and the certainty that freedom is on the way.”
I am proud to announce that Rosa María Payá will be my guest at the State of the Union Address.
His father faced the Cuban dictatorship and paid a high price for not kneeling in the face of fear. That sacrifice was not in vain. He forged in Rosa María a firm and combative voice in… https://t.co/Lq9R2TNb2u
— Rep. María Elvira Salazar (@RepMariaSalazar) February 23, 2026
The State of the Union Address is the annual message through which the president informs Congress about the situation in the country and outlines government priorities. The ceremony, with its own protocols, is carried out before a joint session in the House of Representatives and usually includes special guests from legislators, in a gallery intended for visitors.
Rosa María Payá is one of the most important figures of activism for human rights and democracy in Cuba. In 2025, she was elected commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for the period 2026-2029.
Salazar, who represents Florida’s 27th district, serves on congressional committees linked to foreign policy and financial services. Additionally, he chairs a subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
