Cuba denounces the imposition of Rosa María Payá, whom Cuban officials label a “mercenary,” as commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, rejecting the legitimacy of the OAS and its human rights apparatus.

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The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strong condemnation this Friday against the United States’ campaign to impose Rosa María Payá Acevedo as commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a subsidiary body of the Organization of American States (OAS). Cuban officials described Payá as a “notorious mercenary” and criticized the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s efforts to present her as an “impartial human rights expert.”

In its official statement, Cuba’s Foreign Ministry denounced Payá’s alleged support for coups d’état, dissemination of misinformation, and promotion of military interventions and economic warfare policies in the region.

The ministry highlighted that despite opposition from many governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, the US applied pressure and threats,including the potential cutting of cooperation budgets,to secure Payá’s election.

Cuba also cited the conclusions of an Independent Panel evaluating candidates for the IACHR, which found that Payá “demonstrated limited knowledge of international human rights standards, jurisprudence, or doctrine,” and noted that her political activities “may call into question the appearance of independence in the eyes of a reasonable observer.”

1/ Secretario de Estado #EEUU, con su delirante obsesión anticubana y desprecio a Nuestra América, impuso en CIDH a una de sus empleadas preferidas para defender políticas de coerción universalmente rechazadas.#Cuba no reconoce autoridad alguna de OEA ni de sus instituciones. https://t.co/xzw1rHicoN

— Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) June 27, 2025

The text reads: 1/ U.S. Secretary of State, with his delirious anti-Cuban obsession and contempt for Our America, imposed on the IACHR one of his favorite employees to defend universally rejected coercive policies.
#Cuba does not recognize any authority of the OAS or its institutions.

Additionally, the Center for Economic and Policy Research pointed out that Payá’s public record shows “a repeated disregard for human rights and international law” and includes “disinformation about the governments of OAS member states.”

Payá y Ferrer, conocidos anexionistas cubanos, exigen a Europa suspender el Acuerdo de Diálogo Político y Cooperación con Cuba, mientras la nación caribeña enfrenta una crisis económica agravada por las más de 240 medidas que impuso Donald Trump.https://t.co/iiSMLk9M1N

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) April 18, 2025

The text reads: Payá and Ferrer, well-known Cuban annexationists, demand that Europe suspend the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba, while the Caribbean nation faces an economic crisis worsened by more than 240 measures imposed by Donald Trump.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry further condemned the use of the IACHR as part of US-led campaigns against Cuba’s medical cooperation programs. Havana rejected the OAS request for member states to submit detailed information on their health cooperation agreements with Cuba, calling it an unprecedented violation of state sovereignty.

Reaffirming its position, Cuba declared that it “does not recognize, nor will it recognize, any moral or legal authority of the OAS or any of its officials and subsidiary or autonomous bodies,” reflecting its longstanding critique of the OAS as an imperialist instrument undermining regional sovereignty.

Congratulations to @PayaIACHR who was just elected to the @IACHumanRights.

Payá’s voice and tireless advocacy in defense of freedom, democracy, and human rights in our region is needed now more than ever. https://t.co/9wWDeirWxX

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) June 27, 2025

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