Fidel Castro died seven years ago; his brother Raúl is still around although not very visible; and the appointed successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel, wears business suits to look presidential.

Has anything changed?  Not really.  We may not hear three-hour-long speeches from Fidel Castro, but dissidents still face repression.

This is from Camila Rodríguez, who left Cuba after being threatened by state security for defending human rights:

I am writing these words in exile. I left Cuba almost exactly a year ago, after months of being threatened by state security to stop my work defending human rights inside Cuba.

My story is the story of dozens of activists, journalists, political dissidents and non-conformist artists who in the last few years have been forced to board a plane. And in many cases, to also follow the migrant routes that cross half of the American continent to reach a safe place to start over.

Camila is calling on Eamon Gilmore, the E.U. special representative for human rights, to bring up the violation and repression underway on the island.  She does not want his visit to legitimize the regime.  Instead, she wants, and I assume she speaks for others on the island, for the E.U. to take a firm stance and voice solidarity with human rights defenders.

I am not sure how much the E.U. can do for Cuba.  They have their own problems in Europe, and Cuba has always been nothing more than a cheap beach resort for European tourists and a convenient stop for leftists to live out their Fidel fantasies.

So time passes, and the words change, but reform never comes to Cuba.  My father died in 2015 and my mother in 2021.  I told them that I would love to see Cuba again, but only when the communists are out.  I hope I can go back someday and see the colonial church where they married, the school that I attended, the sandlot where my brother played baseball, and other family places.

Seven years ago, we asked, what will happen now that Castro is dead?  Well, sadly, not much.  The U.S. Embassy in Havana sits near where dissidents are arrested.  All of the hope about change promoted by President Obama is largely forgotten.  Last, but not least, the Russians and Chinese are back, buying, investing, and probably looking for some military advantage from an island 90 miles away.

And where is President Biden?  I don’t know!

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Image: Marcelo Montecino via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.