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On a Wednesday afternoon in July, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also serves as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, wrapped up a series of grassroots working visits with stops at the Municipal Defense Councils of Cotorro and Habana del Este, two municipalities in the country’s capital Havana.

This tour brought direct exchanges between Cuba’s national leadership and local governance teams across all 15 of Havana’s municipalities to a close, but Díaz-Canel emphasized that the practice of on-the-ground problem-solving will not end. Following this round of engagements, new direct consultations will be organized in the near future to keep national leadership connected to local realities.

The president framed the ongoing challenges facing Cuban communities as largely rooted in the relentless economic pressure exerted by foreign powers against the island nation. As Diaz-Canel noted during discussions in both Cotorro and Habana del Este, these external constraints create massive daily obstacles for ordinary Cubans working to build stable, prosperous lives.

During Wednesday’s meetings, local leaders highlighted that while each municipality has its own unique set of circumstances, Cotorro and Habana del Este share many pressing priority issues. Two of the most urgent concerns for both local governments are reliable electricity distribution and consistent access to clean drinking water, topics that were laid out clearly for national leadership during the talks.

Joining the president for these discussions were other senior Cuban officials, including Roberto Morales Ojeda, a member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba; Liván Izquierdo Alonso, President of the Havana Provincial Defense Council; and Yanet Hernández Pérez, Governor of Havana, alongside multiple other local and provincial leaders.

Beyond utility access, shared challenges across the two municipalities include expanding support for vulnerable populations, boosting domestic food production, and ensuring fair and efficient distribution of food supplies to residents. Listening directly to public feedback and aligning political work with community needs has long been a core strategy for Cuban governance, a principle that was clearly on display during these meetings.

During the consultations, the Cuban head of state asked granular questions about key community demographics: the total number of retirees residing in each area, the count of residents who are neither employed nor enrolled in education, the size of vulnerable populations, and the untapped potential for local solutions from emerging grassroots economic actors.

Two key policy areas received particular attention from the president. First, he revisited the operation of the Family Care System (SAF), the government program that connects low-income and vulnerable residents with targeted food assistance, noting its critical role in supporting community well-being. Second, expanding adoption of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) occupied a central spot on the discussion agenda, with national leadership calling for sustained effort to help more public and private entities transition to these clean energy resources.

Díaz-Canel also pressed for updates on a series of outstanding local priorities: How many retirees are still waiting to receive their pension payments? Are regular community food fairs being held as planned to improve access to affordable goods? What progress has been made on expanding the Community Youth Network? Local leaders responded with full updates on the incremental, daily work underway to address each of these issues, framing the effort to improve quality of life as a persistent, meticulous battle that matches the pace of emerging challenges.

In closing reflections, Díaz-Canel emphasized that local municipal-level governance is the frontline where battles for improved quality of life are won, and will continue to be won. This is particularly true, he noted, for efforts to unlock all available societal capacity to build shared prosperity, and to advance municipal autonomy — a reform priority that has become a central topic of national debate as Cuba implements 176 sweeping economic and social transformations to modernize the country.

On Wednesday, July 23, 2026, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba, welcomed United Nations Human Rights Council Independent Expert George Katrougalos for a high-level meeting at Havana’s Palace of the Revolution. Katrougalos, who is in Cuba for an academic working visit, was joined at the talks by Cuban Foreign Minister and Political Bureau member Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

Opening the discussion, Díaz-Canel expressed gratitude for Katrougalos’ visit at what he described as a uniquely challenging global moment, and reflected on their productive exchange at the International Conference for the Balance of the World held in January 2025. The Cuban leader reaffirmed his nation’s unwavering commitment to advancing and protecting human rights, emphasizing that Cuba will maintain open collaboration with all relevant United Nations mechanisms on the issue.

Díaz-Canel used the meeting to outline the devastating, long-standing harm Cuba has endured from the United States’ more than 60-year economic, financial, commercial, and recently expanded energy blockade against the island. He stressed that the most damaging dimension of the policy is its unprecedented longevity, calling it “the longest-lasting blockade in the history of humanity” imposed by the world’s most powerful nation. Despite the ongoing pressure, Díaz-Canel made clear that Cuba’s position is not one of surrender: instead, the country remains committed to resisting adversity and advancing development through the dedication, effort, and ingenuity of its own people.

In response, Katrougalos thanked Cuban authorities for the warm welcome and cooperation that has made his academic visit a productive success. He turned discussion to the growing threats facing multilateralism and the United Nations system in the current global context, marked by widespread violations of foundational international law. The independent expert highlighted multiple formal pronouncements within the Human Rights Council that have condemned the illegality of both the U.S. blockade and energy embargo against Cuba, noting that the international community is increasingly recognizing the severe harm these policies inflict on the everyday lives of the Cuban people. He also acknowledged Cuba’s long-standing tradition of open cooperation with United Nations human rights frameworks.

Beyond his meeting with the Cuban president, Katrougalos’ schedule has included a series of engagements across academic, civil society, and diplomatic sectors. He delivered a keynote address at an academic conference on the future of the international order, co-hosted by the Union of Jurists of Cuba, the University of Havana, and the university’s Faculty of International Relations. He also held in-depth discussions with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, ICAP President Fernando González Llort, representatives of Cuban civil society, and United Nations delegation members based in Havana.

As part of his tour of Cuban institutions advancing social welfare and global public good, Katrougalos visited two landmark facilities: the Latin American School of Medicine, which has trained more than 31,000 medical professionals from 122 countries around the world, many from low-income and marginalized communities, and the Quisicuaba Assisted Living Center, which offers housing, care, and social reintegration support for vulnerable Cubans.

In an official statement released following the meeting, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Katrougalos’ visit underscores Cuba’s consistent commitment to cooperation with the United Nations’ universal, non-discriminatory human rights mechanisms, aligned with the country’s long-standing support for respectful multilateral dialogue and a more equitable global order.