Anti-communist dissidents throughout Cuba organized a campaign on Wednesday, the anniversary of the nation’s independence from Spain, praying for divine intervention to free the island and calling for President Donald Trump to aid their cause.
The campaign consisted of Cubans on the island holding up signs in public reading “God Save Cuba, SOS Trump.” Such public displays of support for the American president and opposition to the Communist Party are highly dangerous under the Castro regime, which violently punishes any perceived defense. The Party regularly engages in public beatings of dissidents and mass arrests of individuals suspected to oppose the government, many of them charged with dubious “crimes” such as “disrespect” and “public disorder.” Political prisoners, human rights activists have documented for decades, are subject to extreme torture and starvation.
The “SOS Trump” campaign follows a resurgence in civil unrest in the country, despite the risks incurred in such activities, in the past decade following the July 11, 2021, nationwide protests calling for freedom. Cubans have essentially not stopped protesting since that day, in which some estimates suggest nearly 190,000 people, demanding respect for human rights and access to reasonable quality of life, which has been impossible for most Cubans during the 67 years of communist rule.
This wave of dissent has been accompanied by growing public displays of faith. In Cuba, as in all communist countries, the government is explicitly atheist and violently punishes people of faith, particularly Christians. In the past month, Cuban organizations have organized massive worship sessions praying for God to intervene in the country, condemning the rampant persecution of Christianity that has defined the Castro regime.
Images shared with Breitbart News by the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, a coalition of a variety of anti-communist groups both within the island and in the diaspora, show Cubans holding up signs calling for Trump’s support in ending communist tyranny. The photos often feature the holder of the sign hiding their identity, given the inherent danger in sharing such a message, and were reportedly taken in locations all over the island. Those shared below were taken in Pinar del Río, Marianao, Los Pinos, Camagüey, Sibanicú, Santi Spiritus, Boyero (in Havana), Villa Clara, and Artemisa.
A person in Cuba holds up sign reading “God save Cuba, SOS Trump” in Camagüey, Cuba, May 20, 2026. (via the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance)
A person in Cuba holds up sign reading “God save Cuba, SOS Trump” in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, May 20, 2026. (via the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance)
A person in Cuba holds up sign reading “God save Cuba, SOS Trump” in Artemisa, Cuba, May 20, 2026. (via the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance)
An anonymous person holds up a sign reading “God save Cuba, SOS Trump” in Los Pinos, Cuba, May 20, 2026. (via the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance)
Woman holds up sign reading “God save Cuba, SOS Trump” in Santi Spiritus, Cuba, May 20, 2026. (via the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance)
A person in Cuba holds up sign reading “God save Cuba, SOS Trump” in Villa Clara, Cuba, May 20, 2026. (via the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance)
One group of protesters held up an American flag alongside an image of Cuban founding father José Martí, as well as a large sign explaining their position.
“Down with the corrupt and murderous communist dictatorship,” the sign read. “Cuba to the streets, national strike now, terrorist PCC [Cuban Communist Party].”
The sign also listed the leaders of the regime, including Raúl Castro, and stated, “get out of Cuba. The people of Cuba hate you. Terrorists.” The poster also accuses the Communist Party of genocide.
“Freedom for all political prisoners, they are innocent,” the rest of the poster reads. “We demand the right to a home, rights to water, and the right to electricity.”
Two people hold up a sign reading “God save Cuba SOS Trump” in Cuba, on May 20, 2026.
Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, the coordinator of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, told Breitbart News that the protesters and their underground dissident organizations are seeking support for their cause from the United States, including some supporting military intervention.
“I think they are asking God to crush the diabolical forces that undergird the Castro dictatorship and President Trump to arrest fugitive dictator Raúl Castro,” he noted.
The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, marking Cuban Independence, that Castro has been indicted in U.S. court for his role in the killing of four Cuban-Americans in 1996: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. The men were members of Brothers to the Rescue, a Florida-based organization that specialized in making international flights to find wayward Cuban refugees attempting to navigate the Florida Straits to flee communism.
The men were conducting rescue flights when the Cuban military shot their planes down, killing all four.
RELATED: ‘I Can Do Anything’ — Trump Teases Move on Failing Cuba
Castro is facing charges of murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, and destruction of aircraft. If convicted, the charges carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment.
“For the first time in nearly 70 years, senior leadership of the Cuban regime has been charged in the United States for alleged acts of violence resulting in the deaths of American citizens,” Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said following the announcement of the indictment. “President Trump and this Justice Department are committed to restoring a simple principle: if you kill Americans, we will pursue you. No matter who you are. No matter what title you hold.”
Also marking Cuban Independence Day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is Cuban-American, published a Spanish-language message to Cubans on the island explaining the policy positions of the Trump administration and expressing hope in cooperating with a new, free Cuba for prosperity.
“On a day like today in 1902, the Cuban flag flew for the first time over an independent country. But I know that today you, who call the island home, are traversing unimaginable difficulties,” Rubio stated, explaining that the suffering of the Cuban people is caused by the Castro regime stealing the government’s funds, including the profits from tourism.
“Instead of using the money to maintain and modernize the power plants that are damaged, the use the money to build more hotels for foreigners, to send their relatives to live in luxury in Madrid or even in the United States,” he observed.
“Today, from media to entertainment, from the private sector to politics, and from music to sports, Cubans have reached the top of virtually ALL industries, in all countries, except one: Cuba,” Rubio concluded.