Washington, Miami, Bilbao and Madrid hosted some of the main events organized by Cuban exile organizations to denounce the repression on the island.
14ymedio, Madrid, July 12, 2026 / Five years after the historic protests of 11 July 2021, Cuban exile organizations commemorated the anniversary this Saturday with vigils, demonstrations and rallies in several cities to remember the biggest social uprising on the island since 1959 and to demand the release of political prisoners.
In Washington, dozens of people participated in a vigil outside the Cuban Embassy organized by the Center for a Free Cuba and Students for Liberty. The gathering was dedicated to the more than 1,300 political prisoners currently reported on the island and focused on several inmates whose health or prison conditions are considered especially serious.
“The dictatorship’s response was and continues to be repression, terror, and measures that further impoverish the Cuban people. This must stop: Cubans need to be free to rebuild their country,” declared John Suárez, executive director of the Center.
The organizers also commemorated the victims of the sinking of the 13 de Marzo tugboat, in which 41 men, 10 of them minors, died on July 13, 1994, while attempting to flee Cuba. Various international human rights organizations have called for an independent investigation into the incident for years.
The vigil concluded with a prayer by Pastor Mario Félix Lleonart and a collection of signatures to demand the release of political prisoners.
“The dictatorship’s response was and continues to be repression, terror, and measures that further impoverish the Cuban people. This must stop.”
Also in the US, in Miami, hundreds of people participated in the Liberation Day Rally, held on Calle Ocho in Little Havana. The event centered around the Tower Theater and Domino Park, where a march, an art exhibit, a screening of the documentary “Cuba and the Night,” and cultural presentations were organized to commemorate the 11 July protests and demand the release of Cuban political prisoners.
Across the Atlantic, the commemoration also brought together the Cuban community in various Spanish cities. In Bilbao, the Cuban-Basque Association Demokrazia Kubarentzat organized a demonstration to commemorate the fifth anniversary of July 11th. The gathering was attended by Cubans residing in the Basque Country, along with representatives from the Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, and Mexican communities, as well as members of the People’s Party.
Participants recalled that 11 July 2021, “was the day a people overcame their fear and took to the streets peacefully to demand freedom, dignity, and a better future for their children.” They also paid tribute to those who remain imprisoned for participating in those protests, to the families separated by exile, and to the Cubans who continue to suffer the lack of freedoms on the island. The association affirmed that the spirit of 11 July remains intact, “because 11 July does not belong to the past: it is a living cause that will continue to inspire the peaceful struggle for a free Cuba.”
In Madrid, the anniversary was commemorated with three days of activities under the slogan “Today could be another 11J,” which included talks with former political prisoners and activists, an art installation, cultural events, and a rally to demand the release of Cuban political prisoners.
Events commemorating the fifth anniversary of July 11th were also held in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Nuremberg, Germany. With these gatherings, the Cuban exile community once again transformed the date into a day of protest against repression on the island and of solidarity with political prisoners, five years after the protests that marked a turning point in Cuba’s recent history.
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