Maritza Lugo Fernández speaks during the Proof of Life of Our Brothers ceremony at the Bay of Pigs Monument on Sunday, March 8. Cuban dissident groups held a press conference to demand repatriation of the bodies of the men killed in the shootout with the Cuban Coast Guard on Sunday, March 8, 2026. They also demanded that the U.S. citizens involved in the incident be allowed to speak to U.S. diplomatic employees.
PHOTO BY AL DIAZ
adiaz@miamiherald.com
A Miami activist accused by Cuban authorities of masterminding a terrorist attack vowed Sunday she will not stop fighting while men detained after a deadly shootout with Cuba’s coast guard remain imprisoned.
“God willing, and very soon we can embrace our brothers in a free Cuba,” said Maritza Lugo Fernández at a press conference in front of the Bay of Pigs Monument in Little Havana on Sunday. “We have much hope now more than ever. This is the moment.”
Maritza Lugo Fernández, the woman the Cuban authorities accused of masterminding a plan to invade Cuba, stands with a portrait Amijail Sanchez and others who were killed or detained in Cuba following a shootout with the Cuban coast guard. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Fernández is the leader of the 30th of November Revolutionary Movement, which held a “Proof of Life of Our Brothers” event in response to the deadly confrontation between an alleged counter-revolutionary group that departed from the Florida Keys and the Cuban coast guard on Feb. 25.
In Cuba’s account of the incident, Cuban officials came across 10 men on a boat packed with weapons, resulting in a shootout at sea.
Ana Segui holds an photograph of her husband Conrado Galindo Sariol, who was on the boat carrying 10 men that was involved in a shootout with Cuban coast guard. The photo indicates that her husband is hospitalized because of the incident. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Pavel Alling Peña, Michael Ortega Casanova, Ledián Padrón Guevara, Héctor Duani Cruz Correa and Roberto Álvarez Ávila died as a result of their injuries, Cuban officials said. Amijail Sánchez González, Leonardo Enrique Cruz Gómez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló and Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara were detained and charged with terrorism.
Fernández, who is a fierce opponent of the Cuban government, was later accused by Cuban officials as being the mastermind behind the planned terrorist attack. On Sunday, Fernández said the regime has always accused her of terrorism, but “that doesn’t mean that’s what I am,” and the same goes for the 10 involved men, she said.
“They aren’t terrorists. What they are is extraordinary, good men, fathers,” she said. “Anyone who confronts the regimen, they accuse them of being terrorists.”
READ MORE: Cuba displays seized weapons, releases new details in alleged assault from Florida
Members of the 30th of November Movement and others are making arrangements to head to Washington, D.C., meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and demonstrate at the White House, Fernández said at Sunday’s event.
“…[W]e will spend an entire day at the White House expressing our discontent, accusing the regime, because they accuse and accuse,” she said.
Maricela Pompa reacts during a Proof of Life of Our Brothers ceremony at the Bay of Pigs Monument in the Little Havana area of Miami, Florida, on Sunday, March 8, 2026. Cuban dissident groups held a press conference to demand repatriation of the bodies of the men killed in the shootout with the Cuban Coast Guard on Sunday, March 8, 2026. They also demanded that the U.S. citizens involved in the incident be allowed to speak to U.S. diplomatic employees. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Fernández has been an activist against the Castro regime for decades. In January 2002, she arrived in exile at Miami International Airport after being imprisoned for dissident activities, according to the Miami Herald archives. Her husband, Rafael Ibarra Roque, was arrested for alleged sabotage in 1994 and sentenced to 20 years in Cuban prison.
“Of course, I haven’t come here to forget everything I left behind,” she said in 2002. “What I’m going to do, I’ll keep to myself, but I will continue working for a future of democracy and freedom within Cuba.”
Sergio Rodríguez, a member of the 30th of November, said Sunday the movement strongly rejected false accusations made by Cuban officials against Fernández and the country’s handling of the 10 men.
Maritza Lugo Fernández speaks to supporters during a Proof of Life of Our Brothers ceremony at the Bay of Pigs Monument. Cuban dissident groups held a press conference to demand repatriation of the bodies of the men killed in the shootout with the Cuban Coast Guard on Sunday, March 8, 2026. They also demanded that the U.S. citizens involved in the incident be allowed to speak to U.S. diplomatic employees. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Rodríguez called for military and humanitarian intervention of the “monstrous totalitarian Castro-communist dictatorship that has destroyed” Cuba and poses imminent danger to the United States. The movement also demands Cuba allow United States embassy personnel to visit prisoners who are American citizens.
“In this context, we demand that the Communist Party of Cuba and the narcos of the dictatorship hand over the bodies of the murdered brothers to their families so that they may receive the proper honors,” he said.
Ana Seguí, the wife of Galindo Sariol, said during the rally her husband had a desire to fight for what he believed was right.
“He is not a terrorist; he was a man who, like many in his time, took a stand in the midst of difficult moments in history,” Seguí said. “Those of us who knew him know of his heart, of the values he defended. His story should not be told with hatred or labels, but with respect and truth.”