CUBA This is the speech that Björn gave at the Salvar a Cuba Conference in Miami on the 13th of September 2025.
Dear friends, fellow defenders of freedom,
It is with both humility and determination that I stand before you today – at this crucial moment, in this vital gathering, under the banner ”Save Cuba.” That phrase is not just a slogan. It is a call – a rallying cry – echoing through the hearts of those who refuse to remain silent in the face of injustice. And I know that all of you in this room today have heard that call.
We are here because we believe that Cuba deserves to be free. We are here because we know that democracy is not a privilege of the West, but a right of all humanity. And we are here because we understand that the values of our civilization – freedom, human dignity, and truth – are under attack, not only in Havana, but across the globe.
Today, I will speak to you about five pillars of our cause:
Cuba – the land, the people, and the tragedy.
Democracy – not as an abstract theory, but as a real and urgent need.
Patriotism – as the antidote to tyranny.
The values of our civilization – those that built the free world.
And finally, the European Union’s role – and the growing conservative push to stop subsidizing Cuba’s dictatorship.
Cuba – A Nation in Chains, But Not Broken
Cuba is more than an island. It is a nation with a soul – a soul that has been betrayed. For over 65 years, the Cuban people have lived under the yoke of an unelected communist regime. First under Fidel Castro, then his brother Raúl, and now Miguel Díaz-Canel – each carrying the same banner of tyranny, sustained by repression and propaganda.
They claimed to build a paradise of equality. In reality, they built a prison of poverty.
Behind the façade of revolutionary slogans lie the true faces of oppression:
Political prisoners.
Food rationing.
Currency collapse.
Mass surveillance.
Internet blackouts.
Families torn apart by exile.
Let us remember that Cuba was once among the most prosperous countries in Latin America. Before the revolution, it attracted immigrants from Europe and hosted a thriving middle class.
Today, it exports only fear, exile, and repression.
And yet – and yet – the Cuban people are not broken.
We all remember July 11, 2021 – when thousands of Cubans took to the streets, risking everything to chant one simple, beautiful word: “Libertad!” Freedom. That day, the regime’s mask slipped. The world saw that the revolution had no legitimacy – only brutality. Peaceful protesters were beaten, imprisoned, disappeared.
But the flame was lit. And that flame still burns in every dissident, in every exiled journalist, in every mother whose son is behind bars.
That flame is Cuba’s hope. And it is our duty to keep it alive.
Democracy – A Universal Right, Not a Western Luxury
Let me be clear: when we speak of democracy, we are not promoting “Western values.” We are defending universal human rights.
Democracy is the natural political expression of a free people. It is not perfect – no system is.
But it is the only system that gives voice to the voiceless, power to the people, and accountability to the powerful.
In Cuba, the people have been denied that voice for generations. Elections are a farce. The media is state-run. Opposition is criminalized. Churches are monitored. Students, workers, and artists live under the shadow of the Communist Party’s total control.
But still, brave individuals rise up:
The Ladies in White who march silently each Sunday for their imprisoned sons and husbands.
Independent journalists who risk arrest to tell the truth.
Young artists and musicians who use their voices to challenge censorship.
These are the true democrats. Not because they’ve read Locke or Montesquieu – but because they instinctively understand that freedom is worth suffering for.
They are not asking us to save them. They are asking us to stand with them.
Patriotism – The True Spirit of Resistance
The Cuban regime loves to cloak itself in the language of patriotism – of nationalism, sovereignty, anti-imperialism. But let us be clear: there is no patriotism in dictatorship.
True patriotism is not loyalty to the state. It is loyalty to the people.
True patriotism means wanting the best for your nation – prosperity, dignity, freedom – not power for yourself.
The Cuban opposition is patriotic. The Cuban dictatorship is not.
We conservatives understand this distinction. We know what it means to love your country – not as an abstraction, but as a living bond between past, present, and future. We know that real sovereignty begins with self-government. That a country ruled by foreign ideology – Marxism-Leninism – is not sovereign at all.
Let us honor Cuba’s true patriots – those who wave not just the flag, but the truth behind it.
Let us remember José Martí, who said: “The first duty of a man is to think for himself.”
If Martí lived today, he would be jailed by this regime. That tells us all we need to know.
The Values of Our Civilization – Under Threat
The fight for Cuba is part of a broader struggle – a struggle to defend the values of Western civilization.
These values are under siege: not only in Havana, but in Caracas, in Moscow, in Beijing – and yes, even in parts of our own societies where relativism, nihilism, and Marxist ideology creep into our institutions.
So what do we fight for?
We fight for:
The dignity of the individual.
Freedom of thought and speech.
The rule of law.
Private property.
The family as the cornerstone of society.
A culture rooted in truth, not ideology.
These are not mere preferences. These are the foundations of the free world.
The Cuban regime stands against all of them. That is why we must stand against the regime.
And we must do so not with apologies or appeasement, but with clarity and courage.
The European Union – Time to Cut the Lifeline
This brings me to Europe.
For too long, European policy toward Cuba has been marked by wishful thinking – the illusion that by engaging the regime, we can moderate it. That if we offer aid, open trade, and turn a blind eye to repression, the dictatorship will evolve.
Let me say this plainly: It has not worked. It will never work.
The EU’s Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) with Cuba – signed in 2016 – was supposed to encourage democratic reform. But what has it achieved?
Have there been free elections? No.
Have political prisoners been released? No.
Has censorship decreased? No.
Has civil society been empowered? No.
What the PDCA has done is funnel money into a regime that uses it to surveil, silence, and suppress.
The agreement provides 155 million euros for 80 development projects in Cuba, despite flagrant violations of Article 1 of this agreement, which stipulates respect for human rights. The aid and fundings go through state structures that lack transparency or accountability.
We cannot continue this hypocrisy. We cannot speak of human rights in Brussels while funding their violation in Havana.
That is why conservatives in the European Parliament are now leading a push to suspend the PDCA and redirect aid directly to civil society.
We are calling for:
An immediate audit of all EU funding to Cuba.
A freeze on state-to-state financial transfers.
Increased support for dissidents, journalists, and NGOs.
Targeted sanctions on regime officials responsible for repression.
Europe must take a side. Not between left and right – but between dictatorship and freedom.
Final Words – The Moral Duty of Our Time
Dear friends,
Cuba is not an isolated case. It is a symbol. A symbol of what happens when ideology conquers truth, when power silences conscience, when the state replaces the soul.
But Cuba is also a beacon. A beacon of resistance. A reminder that the human spirit cannot be crushed forever.
We are living in a moment when the battle between freedom and tyranny is global. The choices we make now – in Europe, in America, in the halls of parliament and in international institutions – will determine the course of this century.
Let us not be remembered as those who stood by while a proud people suffered. Let us be remembered as those who helped them rise.
Let us save Cuba – and in doing so, reaffirm the values that built our civilization.
Thank you. Viva Cuba libre!
BJÖRN SÖDER
Member of Swedish Parliament
