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Cuba’s ICAP vice president, sanctioned by US, denies political indoctrination
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Cuba’s ICAP vice president, sanctioned by US, denies political indoctrination

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • ICAP First Vice President Noemí Rabaza denied that Cuban solidarity groups in the United States are politically indoctrinated by the institute.
  • Rabaza spoke after Washington sanctioned her, ICAP President Fernando González Llort and North America director Leima Martínez, accusing the organization of influence and subversive activity.
  • The dispute comes amid heightened US-Cuba tensions and a severe Cuban crisis marked by blackouts, shortages, limited public services and sporadic peaceful protests.

Noemí Rabaza says Cuba’s solidarity groups in the United States are not controlled or politically indoctrinated by the Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, or ICAP.

are not politically indoctrinated, much less by us, ICAP

— Noemí RabazaHer denial that ICAP controls or indoctrinates Cuban solidarity groups in the United States.

Rabaza, the institute’s first vice president, made the denial in an EFE interview while attending the welcome ceremony for the Astral, an Open Arms sailing vessel carrying seven tonnes of humanitarian aid. Washington sanctioned her on August 20, along with ICAP President Fernando González Llort and North America director Leima Martínez. The organization itself had already been sanctioned on June 4.

The US government describes ICAP as an influence and propaganda network operating in the United States. A State Department report backed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the institute of serving as an intelligence front and supporting subversive networks. Rubio said the Cuban government had spent decades using front groups to infiltrate, corrupt and radicalize Americans.

What we have in the United States is a solidarity movement with Cuba, which arose above ICAP and any Cuban organization.

— Noemí RabazaHer description of the groups as independent from ICAP and other Cuban organizations.

Rabaza rejected that account. “What we have in the United States is a solidarity movement with Cuba, which arose above ICAP and any Cuban organization,” she said. She described its purpose as opposing the US embargo and called it “a movement of peace, love and the will to act.”

It is a movement of peace, love and the will to act.

— Noemí RabazaHer characterization of the solidarity movement’s aims.

The confrontation has intensified alongside Cuba’s internal crisis and Washington’s maximum-pressure policy since early 2026. The account describes an oil blockade, sanctions that have driven away foreign companies, prolonged blackouts and severe disruption to transport, hospitals, industry, banks, state offices and telecommunications. Prices for food and medicines have risen sharply in informal markets, while sporadic peaceful protests have reflected growing social discontent.

The Cuban regime has spent decades using front groups to infiltrate, corrupt and radicalize Americans.

— Marco RubioThe US secretary of state’s justification for sanctions against ICAP leaders.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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