Cuban Exiles Challenge Pro-Regime Flotilla: "If They Enter, We Will Too"

An international flotilla's call to deliver aid to Cuba has ignited an immediate reaction from exiles. This wasn't a diplomatic statement or an institutional notice, but rather a straightforward challenge: "Let the Cuban government prepare, because if they enter, we will too."

These bold words were posted on Facebook by Cuban activist Salomé García Bacallao after a coalition of leftist movements announced the "Nuestra América" Flotilla. This initiative intends to reach the island in March with food and medicine to "break the U.S. blockade."

The post quickly went viral. Under the hashtags #DerechoARegresar and #SiEllosEntranNosotrosTambién, scores of Cubans both domestically and internationally began envisioning another scenario: boats setting sail from Miami and other exile points, not to support the regime, but to stand with the people in solidarity.

“Great idea to join the flotilla,” commented one user. “Save me a spot,” added another. “Ready to go from Miami to Havana.” The responses blend enthusiasm with irony and pent-up anger after years of forced separation.

The international flotilla was announced as a gesture of solidarity amid the island's severe crisis. Organizers, including American activist David Adler and former British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, claim the mission aims to deliver essential supplies and protest what they describe as "collective punishment" of the Cuban people.

Promotional materials from the organizers assert that the Trump administration is "strangling the island," with "lethal" consequences for newborns, the elderly, and the sick. They liken the initiative to the Global Sumud Flotilla, which attempted to send humanitarian aid to Gaza.

However, the exiles' reaction has shifted the focus to a different question: who decides who can enter Cuba?

For many emigrants, the debate is not just about medicines or food, but about rights. Over a million Cubans have left the country in recent years, amidst endless blackouts, chronic shortages, and a collapsed economic system. Many face restrictions on returning freely or without conditions.

“Cubans don’t want humanitarian crumbs; we want human rights,” a user commented. Others questioned why the flotilla has official authorization while thousands of Cubans remain unable to return without fear of reprisal.

The discussion also exposed polarization. Some defended the international effort as a legitimate act of solidarity, while others dismissed it as a "propaganda spectacle," arguing that the country's structural crisis can't be solely attributed to the embargo, but also to decades of mismanagement and lack of deep reforms.

Some voices went further, calling for a "Freedom Flotilla," a symbolic movement advocating for the Cuban people's right to enter and leave their country without political restrictions.

At its core, the exchange reveals something deeper than an ideological clash. For the Cuban who left—leaving parents, children, or siblings behind—the idea of foreign boats entering the island while they cannot do so freely touches an open wound.

The "Nuestra América" flotilla aims to set sail through the Caribbean in March. Whether it succeeds remains to be seen. What it has already accomplished is rekindling a slogan that summarizes the frustration of a generation marked by exile: if the waters open for some, they should open for all.