Florida's Republican state senator, Ileana García, voiced her conviction at the Free Cuba Rally in Hialeah on Tuesday that the demise of Cuba's regime is inevitable.
“I do not believe there's any turning back,” she stated, while acknowledging the significant challenges of rebuilding what she described as "a decayed nation lacking a monetary system and any form of structure."
The rally, held at Milander Park, drew thousands of Cuban Americans to Ted Hendricks Stadium and featured leaders, activists, and artists.
In a heartfelt moment, Senator García, whose parents fled Cuba, shared that her grandmother is 100 years old and she has asked her to hold on a bit longer to see a free Cuba.
“My grandmother is 100 years old, and I told her the other day: hold on just a little longer so you can see Cuba’s freedom,” García recounted to Martí Noticias.
Though born in the United States, García expressed her personal longing to visit Cuba with her family one day.
Advocacy for Change and Political Stance
Despite Cuba's ongoing crisis, García remains optimistic about the Cuban people's resilience and capability to thrive.
She also called for the strengthening and progress of the Helms-Burton Act, aimed at dismantling the regime, and expressed confidence in Cuban American lawmakers in Congress and the Trump administration to help establish a new government on the island.
In a moment that garnered significant applause, García, co-founder of “Latinas for Trump,” proposed Marco Rubio as a presidential candidate for 2028, a suggestion that was warmly received by the exiled community.
This marks a shift in the senator’s stance, as she had previously distanced herself from President Donald Trump due to his immigration policies, which she deemed inhumane.
In January, García remarked that Trump’s immigration crackdown had gone from “uncomfortable to unsustainable” and warned it might cost the party the 2026 midterm elections.
The Rally's Context and Impact
The Free Cuba Rally was organized by Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo, a 28-year-old Harvard Law School graduate and the youngest mayor in the city's history, in partnership with the Cuba Anti-Communist Foundation.
“We want change in Cuba, and what does that look like? It looks like a complete regime change,” declared Calvo to a crowd waving Cuban and American flags, wearing hats with slogans like "Make Cuba Great Again" and "Cuba Libre," as chants of "Cuba Next" echoed from the exiled community in Hialeah.
Notable attendees included dissident José Daniel Ferrer, exiled in Miami since October 2025; activist Rosa María Payá; and Alexander Otaola, president of the Cuban Anti-Communist Foundation, who called for real action from Trump to dismantle the PCC, closing the night by asserting that "freedom is very near, freedom is in the air."
The event also featured performances by Yotuel Romero, El Chacal, Jacob Forever, Lena Burke, and Amaury Gutiérrez.
One of the most viral images of the night was of a 92-year-old Cuban woman dancing and shouting "Cuba Libre." “Joy for everyone. And I know it’s coming soon! I came from Cuba and never returned,” she declared with tears and dance, embodying a generation waiting decades for this moment.
The rally occurred amidst unprecedented pressure on the regime: Cuba faces power outages of 15 to 25 hours daily and an energy deficit nearing 1,900 MW, with a projected economic contraction of 7.2% of GDP in 2026, accumulating a 23% decline since 2019, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit.
FAQs on the Future of Cuba's Freedom
What is the Helms-Burton Act?
The Helms-Burton Act is a U.S. law aimed at strengthening international sanctions against Cuba with the goal of ending the communist regime.
Why did Ileana García distance herself from Trump?
Ileana García distanced herself from President Trump due to his immigration policies, which she criticized as inhumane and potentially damaging to the Republican Party’s future electoral prospects.
Who organized the Free Cuba Rally?
The Free Cuba Rally was organized by Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo in collaboration with the Cuba Anti-Communist Foundation.