{"id":205720,"date":"2026-03-25T17:08:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/205720\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T17:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:08:23","slug":"hialeah-cuba-libre-rally-calls-to-end-the-cuban-dictatorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/205720\/","title":{"rendered":"Hialeah \u201cCuba Libre\u201d Rally: Calls to End the Cuban Dictatorship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"People<\/p>\n

People wave flags as they attend the Free Cuba Rally at Milander Park on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Hialeah.<\/p>\n

Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n

mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n

Longing for a free homeland, hope for change and a deep love for Cuba drew thousands to the streets of Hialeah, where chants of \u201cLibertad\u201d echoed through the city during a \u201cCuba Libre\u201d rally Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

The gathering at Milander Field was part protest, part celebration \u2014 a vibrant echo of a Cuban fiesta. Hats reading \u201cMake Cuba Great Again\u201d and shirts proclaiming \u201cCubans from Mor\u00f3n\u201d \u2014 a central Cuba town where protesters recently set fire<\/a> to the Communist Party headquarters \u2014 or \u201cPatria y Vida\u201d dotted the crowd, while music, from Celia Cruz classics to reggaeton, pulsed through the air. The voice of Cuban singer Amaury Guti\u00e9rrez added a melodic thread, weaving nostalgia and pride into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Amid the chants, one refrain rose above the rest: \u201c\u00a1Viva Cuba Libre! \u00a1Abajo la dictadura!\u201d\u2014 Long live free Cuba, Down with the dictatorship \u2014 powerful declarations of identity, pride, and solidarity uniting generations, from those who left decades ago to younger Cuban Americans, bound by hope and resistance.<\/p>\n

\"Inalbis Inalbis de la Torre, 91, far-left, her dog Luci, and her daughter, Yali de la Torre, along with her dog Lola, react as they attend the Free Cuba Rally at Milander Park on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Hialeah. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com \"A A girl looks on as she attends the Free Cuba Rally at Milander Park on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Hialeah. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com \"People People attend the Free Cuba Rally at Milander Park on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Hialeah. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

The rally, attended by several thousand people, marked the first major event hosted by Hialeah\u2019s new mayor, Bryan Calvo, in the heart of one of the nation\u2019s largest Cuban exile communities where, even though most elected officials are U.S.-born to Cuban parents or grandparents, the cause of a free Cuba has long been used as political leverage in South Florida. Following the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in January, some Cuban Americans believe this year could finally mark a turning point for the island.<\/p>\n

Calvo, in a bilingual address, said that the Cuban people deserve something more than \u201cmerely surviving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cuban people deserve the right to choose their leaders, and they deserve the right to speak without fear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Among those in attendance was Alicia Silverio, who left Santa Clara in central Cuba eight years ago to join her children in Hialeah. She said she came to the rally to defend her homeland.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody can live there \u2014 the situation is brutal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Despite the hardships, Silverio, 86, said she remains hopeful. Asked about reported negotiations between the Trump administration and figures linked to the Cuban government, she was clear about her wish: \u201cThe only thing I want before I die is to see a free Cuba \u2014 to see the communists leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People People wave flags as they attend the Free Cuba Rally at Milander Park on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Hialeah. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Many in the crowd voiced strong support for the Trump administration\u2019s hardline approach toward Havana, while firmly rejecting any negotiations with the Cuban government that fall short of full political change. For them, economic concessions without a clear path to democracy are not an option.<\/p>\n

Alex Otaola, the flamboyant YouTube influencer who ran for the Miami-Dade mayoral seat in 2024 and co-organized the rally with the city, said the event was meant to send a unified message to Cubans both on and off the island. \u201cThe objective is the same for all of us \u2014 to overthrow the dictatorship,\u201d he said. \u201cNo concessions can be made. You cannot negotiate with a dictatorship \u2014 it must be overthrown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuban dissident Jos\u00e9 Daniel Ferrer told the Miami Herald he believes Cuba it is in a crucial phase to be free, for three reasons: Cubans on the island are fighting for that freedom with ever-increasing courage every day; the exiles are becoming increasingly united; and a friendly administration in the White House has set itself the goal of ending the tyranny.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the crisis Cuba is enduring and the tragedy it is experiencing, its people are increasingly determined to win their freedom,\u201d Ferrer said. \u201cWith Ra\u00fal Castro fading from the scene, there is no longer a figure to whom allegiance is owed or one that people need to fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jos\u00e9 Cuban dissident Jos\u00e9 Daniel Ferrer speaks during the Free Cuba Rally at Milander Park on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Hialeah. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Ferrer said that the only conversations he would agree between the U.S. and the Cuban regime is to get them to leave, not just to make economic reforms without political change.<\/p>\n

\"Iradiel Iradiel Caraballo Viera forms an \u2018L\u2019 with his hand to symbolize liberty while attending the Free Cuba Rally at Milander Park on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Hialeah. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com \"A A woman listens to a speaker while attending the Free Cuba Rally at Milander Park on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Hialeah. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

One of the most emotional moments came when Cuban American singer Lena Burke led the Cuban national anthem, her voice soaring across the crowd. Though not everyone knew the words, many\u2014especially older adults\u2014sang along, turning the anthem into a stirring ode to independence.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Ver\u00f3nica Egui Brito<\/a><\/p>\n

el Nuevo Herald<\/p>\n

Ver\u00f3nica Egui Brito ha profundizado en temas sociales apremiantes y de derechos humanos. Cubre noticias dentro de la vibrante ciudad de Hialeah y sus alrededores para el Nuevo Herald y el Miami Herald. Se uni\u00f3 al Herald en 2022. Ver\u00f3nica Egui Brito has delved into pressing social, and human rights issues. She covers news within the vibrant city of Hialeah, and its surrounding areas for el Nuevo Herald, and the Miami Herald. Joined the Herald in 2022.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People wave flags as they attend the Free Cuba Rally at Milander Park on Tuesday, March 24, 2026,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205721,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[1016,94436,94435,25679,225,227,226,39064,94437,4390],"class_list":["post-205720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-cuba","tag-cuba-libre","tag-diaz-canel","tag-freedom","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news","tag-maduro","tag-patria-y-vida","tag-venezuela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}