I was detained in Cuba. That single sentence carries the weight of a nightmare that still lingers with me today. I have seen firsthand the cruelty of a regime that masquerades as a proud nation, while in reality, it is nothing more than a prison island run by tyrants.
For decades, Americans have been told that Cuba is a relic of the Cold War, an afterthought, or even a misunderstood neighbor. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cuba is not harmless. It is an active enemy of freedom, a hub of authoritarian repression, and a willing partner of America’s worst adversaries.
A dangerous country with dangerous allies
The world forgets this because Havana has mastered the art of propaganda. Tourists sip cocktails in Havana’s old city, while dissidents rot in cells out of sight. Western celebrities pose with vintage cars and pastel buildings, blind to the fact that every neighborhood hides a system of surveillance, intimidation, and fear.
Intellectuals romanticize Che Guevara as a revolutionary hero while ignoring the reality: He was an executioner who believed human beings could be discarded for political gain. The Cuba that is sold to outsiders is a lie. The Cuba that exists in reality is brutal.
Today, Cuba is more dangerous than ever because of the company it keeps. The regime has aligned itself with Iran, Russia, China, Venezuela, and, yes, Qatar, the same Gulf emirate that bankrolls Hamas and spreads Islamist extremism worldwide. What Havana lacks in economic clout, it makes up for in its alliances with America’s worst enemies.
Cuba has hosted Hezbollah operatives, trained spies for Iran, and propped up Venezuela’s narco-dictatorship. It is part of a global axis of terror that seeks to undermine both the United States and Israel.
My detention in Cuba
I learned this truth the hard way. My detention in Cuba was not an accident. It was a deliberate act of intimidation by a regime that treats human life as disposable. When I landed in Havana en route to the Bahamas, I was pulled aside, interrogated about the Israeli visa stamps in my passport, and treated as if I were a criminal for the simple act of visiting the Jewish state.
They took my phone and scrutinized my identity. Hours passed with no explanation. Later, when I tried to continue my journey, I was told flatly: “You cannot go.”
Then began the true ordeal: 32 hours locked in a holding room, under constant surveillance, with no food, no water, and no explanation. To use the restroom, I had to be escorted like a dangerous prisoner. What was my crime? Being pro-Israel. What was my punishment? Humiliation and physical exhaustion meant to break my spirit.
In the end, I was deported, escorted onto a plane by the airport chief of police himself, with no record, no paperwork, and no accountability. Cuba wanted me silenced, erased, and forgotten.
America must stand against Cuba
US President Donald Trump came to power with a promise: America First. That must include standing firmly against the dictators in Havana. There can be no normalization with a regime that crushes free speech, censors the press, and exports terrorism. Every dollar that flows into Cuba strengthens the hands of Iran, Russia, and their terror proxies. Every concession to Havana emboldens the enemies of freedom.
Israel understands this better than anyone. Just as the Jewish state faces rocket fire from Hamas and Hezbollah, America faces threats from their enablers in Tehran, Caracas, and Havana. The same terror networks that rain death on Israeli civilians are shielded and supported by Cuba’s allies.
To protect Israel is to protect America. To confront Cuba is to confront the entire ecosystem of terror.
Yet, some in Washington still want to look away. They call Cuba a non-threat, a distraction, a minor issue. That is naïve and dangerous. The danger is not only in what Cuba does; it is in what Cuba represents: the normalization of tyranny on America’s doorstep. The longer Havana is tolerated, the stronger its network of allies becomes.
President Trump has shown courage before. He moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israel’s right to self-defense, and tore up the disastrous Iran deal. Cuba must not be forgotten. Sanctions must be tightened. Dissidents must be supported. The United States must send a clear, unmistakable message: Freedom will prevail; tyranny will not.
I write these words not as a writer but as someone who has felt the cold hand of Cuban repression firsthand. I know what that evil looks like. I know what it feels like to be stripped of dignity and freedom by a system that despises both. And I know this: If America turns its back, that evil will spread.
The writer, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. Follow him on X: @amineayoubx.