“Cuba is poor because it is not free.” In a new op-ed for the Miami Herald Opinion (@HeraldOpEd) HRF Chief Advocacy Officer Roberto González (@gmxrob) exposes how Cuba’s communist regime uses the US embargo to deflect blame for its economic failures. From prioritizing hotel investments over agriculture to concealing billions in military assets, the regime’s own policies have deepened the crisis. Read the op-ed → ow.ly/7CPi50ZZPZ2

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett has spent her career fighting for prisoners of conscience, from chairing the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to leading the @LantosFndn. As Xi Jinping sits down with Trump this week, her message is simple: #ReleaseThem

@GraceJDrexel advocated for the release of her father, Pastor Ezra Jin, who was imprisoned for exercising his freedom of religion. He was freed this past July. Her advocacy continues: Last night she stood beneath the faces of eight prisoners of conscience projected across Washington, D.C., in solidarity with the family of those still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones. #ReleaseThem

Last night, as Xi Jinping landed in Washington for his first state visit in more than a decade, we projected the faces of eight political prisoners onto the streets of D.C. Their names rolled through the city on truck ads. Their faces were prominently featured in Roll Call. Their families continue speaking up for them — because the Chinese Communist Party locked them up for peaceful acts: teaching, writing, worshipping, speaking, simply existing. Joshua Wong, awaiting sentence on a charge that carries a maximum of life imprisonment. Owen Chow, sentenced to nearly 8 years in the HK47 case. Dr. Gulshan Abbas, taken days after her sister spoke in Washington. Ilham Tohti, serving life as a professor. Gao Zhen, sentenced to three years for art. Pastors Wang Lin, Gao Yingjia, and Gao Quanfu, imprisoned for leading their churches. Today, as Xi sits down with President Trump, HRF has one simple request: #ReleaseThem

Eight people. A student, a legislator, a professor, a doctor, an artist, and pastors. All imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party for peaceful acts. As Xi Jinping visits Washington, D.C., this week, we call on him to release them all, now. This video brings together the friends and loved ones of these eight prisoners of conscience, demanding the release of the people with whom they desperately want to reunite. Joshua Wong, arrested and detained multiple times over more than a decade for his peaceful activism and for advocating for democratic reform — awaiting sentence after a Sept. 2 guilty plea on a national security charge that carries a maximum of life imprisonment. Owen Chow, a student activist turned legislator, was sentenced to 7 years and 9 months in the HK47 trial. Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a retired physician sentenced to 20 years in a secret trial, forcibly disappeared days after her sister spoke out in Washington. Ilham Tohti, a professor serving a life term for building understanding between Uyghurs and Han. Gao Zhen, an artist sentenced in August 2026 to three years for sculptures made a decade before the law they were charged under took effect. Pastors Wang Lin, Gao Yingjia, and Gao Quanfu, imprisoned for leading their congregations peacefully and faithfully. These eight represent thousands of innocent people imprisoned for exercising basic rights. Their families will not be silent. The world must not be silent. Free them now. #ReleaseThem