Inside Cuba’s Police State: From Ration Cards to Black Berets with Gelet Martínez Fragela

My guest today is Gelet Martínez Fragela, a Cuban journalist and political refugee whose outlet is banned on the island. We trace Cuba’s path from independence to dictatorship, and separate myth from reality on the embargo, healthcare, and poverty. Gelet describes ration cards, compulsory “labor camps,” and why Cuba’s incarceration rate is among the world’s highest. We also dig into the regime’s information warfare, from cozy ties with the PFLP to state media claiming Israel “nuked” Syria, and how Chinese paramilitaries trained Cuba’s anti-riot police. We end on the protests of July 11, 2021: what ignited them, why they mattered, and what a serious U.S. policy would prioritize now.

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