Freedom Betrayed: How Cuba's Fight for Sovereignty Mirrors America's War Against Its Own Families
- Ryan Alvar
- Apr 29
- 7 min read
1. The Dream of Independence: How It Was Stolen
In the late 1800s, Cuba fought a long, bloody struggle to free itself from Spanish colonial rule. The Cuban people dreamed of a sovereign nation — free to decide their own future.
When the United States entered the Spanish-American War in 1898, it claimed to be an ally of Cuban freedom. Many believed America was standing for liberty.
But after Spain was defeated, something darker happened.
Instead of granting Cuba true independence, the United States occupied the island and forced Cuba to insert the Platt Amendment into its new Constitution — a clause that gave America the legal right to intervene in Cuba’s affairs at any time and permanently lease Guantanamo Bay.
Cuba was "free" — but only on paper.
In reality, it became a client state, stripped of its dignity and bound by foreign chains.
2. Decades of Exploitation and Resentment
For the next half-century, American companies seized control of Cuban industries.
Corrupt dictators like Batista ruled Cuba with U.S. backing — as long as they protected American business interests.
The Cuban people — the farmers, the workers, the families — remained impoverished and voiceless, while a foreign power profited from their land.
By the 1950s, anger boiled over. The Cuban Revolution, led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, sought to restore dignity and independence.
And for a brief moment, it seemed possible.
Castro initially sought a relationship with the United States.
But when he refused to bow to American demands and began nationalizing industries, Washington retaliated with embargoes, isolation, sabotage, and attempted invasions.
Forced into desperation, Cuba turned to the Soviet Union — not because it chose communism out of ideology, but because America left it no choice.
3. The Hypocrisy Exposed
America, the self-proclaimed beacon of freedom, crushed another nation's dream — simply because that nation wanted to be free on its own terms.
But history shows us a different example — a far nobler one.
During the American Revolutionary War, it was France — not America — that first proved what true support for freedom looks like.
France gave massive military aid to the American colonies.
They sent ships, weapons, soldiers, and money — at enormous cost to themselves.
French generals like Lafayette fought alongside American revolutionaries.
The French navy — at the critical Battle of Yorktown — sealed the victory that allowed American independence.
Without France, America likely would have lost its revolution.
Without France, there would be no United States as we know it today.
And yet, after all they gave, France demanded nothing in return.
They did not force the U.S. to include amendments favoring France in its Constitution.
They did not claim permanent military bases on American soil.
They did not insist on the right to intervene in U.S. affairs.
They did not reduce America to a puppet or a colony.
They proved what it means to truly stand for freedom.
This is no small point — because France, though not a democracy themselves at the time, still fought to help us build one — if only to spite our common enemy, Great Britain.
The ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity were not just words — they were actions, paid for in blood, sacrifice, and principle.
They helped give us our independence — and then respected it.
4. When America's Time Came, We Failed
And yet — when America’s time came to prove its commitment to freedom, we did not rise to the occasion.
Instead of treating Cuba with the respect that we had once been shown, we occupied them, dictated their constitution, claimed rights to intervene, seized land, and set them up for generations of hardship.
We pretend to be the leader of the free world —
but when it mattered most,
when another people stood before us asking for dignity and partnership,
we chose domination over freedom.
We became the very empire we had once fought against.
The tragedy is not just in what we did to Cuba.
The tragedy is in what we revealed about ourselves.
We talk about freedom.
We preach democracy.
We wave the flag of liberty.
But when freedom demanded sacrifice, patience, and respect, we showed only greed and fear.
The proof is not in our slogans.
The proof is in our actions.
And in that proof, we failed.
5. The Same Story At Home: The Family Court System
This betrayal of freedom is not just something America does abroad.
It does it right here at home — to its own citizens.
Every day in family courts across the United States, good parents are dragged into a system that tears away their children under the banner of "law" and "order."
If they cry out, they are labeled unstable.
If they show emotion, they are called dangerous.
If they fight for their children, they are punished.
The very government that speaks of liberty will strip a parent of their most sacred bond — and then blame them for feeling broken.
"If you want to see a sane person act insane, take away their child."
It is not madness.
It is not criminality.
It is grief — grief made unbearable by injustice.
The same government that destroyed Cuba’s independence, that punished a small island for daring to dream, punishes its own people when they dare to love too fiercely.
6. A Message to Cuban-Americans
I understand that for many Cuban-Americans, these words may be difficult to hear.
You or your families fled Cuba seeking freedom, safety, and a better life.
And make no mistake — the suffering you endured was real.
But I must ask you: Do you realize who caused that hardship in the first place?
You fled a country that was choked economically, politically, and socially — by a foreign power that claimed to champion liberty.
You fled to a nation that created — and still sustains — the very pain you sought to escape.
You came to this country under the beautiful illusion that you would be protected, valued, and cared for.
But America is not always what it pretends to be.
It can — and does — impede upon its citizens' freedoms the same way it impedes upon others around the world.
The only difference is this:
In Cuba, they tell you openly what is allowed and what is not.
In America, they hide behind a false veil of freedom, and simply take away your rights whenever they see fit.
Which is better?
To be openly governed, where you know your boundaries?
Or to be silently stripped of your freedoms under the illusion of liberty?
This is not a question of patriotism.
It is a question of truth.
And it is a truth we must face if we are ever to build a truly free nation — for ourselves, our children, and all those still fighting for dignity.
7. A Call to the World: Right the Wrong, Stand for Justice
This moment in history presents a powerful opportunity for the world — especially for nations who value democracy, dignity, and true freedom.
Other nations — in North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia — could right this historic wrong.
They could choose:
To open their arms to Cuba,
To trade, invest, and cooperate with a nation that has been isolated and punished for too long,
To stand together, not in submission to a superpower, but in solidarity with a people still seeking dignity.
They could show the world how democracy is supposed to work —
by respecting sovereignty, by promoting dialogue, by building bridges instead of burning them.
And by standing in defiance of injustice — even when that injustice comes from the United States.
Because if many nations together demand justice, they will succeed.
No empire, no matter how large, can stand forever against the united will of people determined to be free.
Cuba’s redemption could become a symbol of global courage — and a reminder that democracy is not just a word — it is a promise.
8. The Path Forward: True Freedom for All
What could have been different for Cuba can still be different for us.
True freedom requires:
Respecting the sovereignty of nations abroad — and the sovereignty of families at home.
Refusing to judge victims by the scars inflicted upon them.
Refusing to blame emotion on the emotional — rather than on the injustice that caused it.
True freedom demands that we listen — truly listen — to those we have wronged.
Freedom must belong to everyone, or it belongs to no one at all.
Until we learn that, we are not a free people.
We are only an empire wearing a broken mask.
But the future is not yet lost.
We can choose a different way — a way of dignity, truth, and real liberty — if only we have the courage to see clearly and act boldly.
For Cuba.
For our families.
For ourselves.
Final Thought
We are not so different from the people we once condemned.
Their story is our story — whether we dare to see it or not.
The question now is simple:
Will we finally stand for real freedom — or will we continue to live blindly in the ruins of a lie?
The choice is ours.
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I’ve already heard from parents who’ve lost everything. Some haven’t seen their children in years.
This is real. This is dangerous. And this is why we fight.
Ryan -
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