Marion Smith in Lima: End the Castro Doctrine

VOC fellow Enrique Altimari, Executive Director Marion Smith, Cuban civic leader Rosa María Payá, VOC Director of Development David Talbot, and Cuban artist El Sexto.

Leading up to the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru in April, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) hosted a “Cuba’s Free Future” event with Freedom House and the Latin American Youth Network for Democracy to draw attention to the dire state of political repression in Cuba and the urgent need to press for greater freedom.

The event drew nearly 100 people with a strong showing of VIPs, including Carlos Trujillo, US Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS); and OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, who gave remarks as did VOC Executive Director Marion Smith and former presidents of Bolivia and Costa Rica Jorge Ramírez and Miguel Echeverría.

In his remarks, Marion Smith said: “The Revolution of Fidel and Che has failed the people of Cuba. And yet, the Castros keep trying to export their failed model to other countries in this region through propaganda, corruption, and violent coercion. It’s time for this Castro Doctrine in Latin America to end.”