Lithuania hosts a congress for the freedom of dissidents from world dictatorships

• Latin America The Venezuelan opposition seeks oxygen in one of its worst moments

• Summit of the Americas Opponents and activists from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua unequivocally support the exclusion of the three dictatorships

The voices of those who fight against autocracies around the world will be raised from today in Vilnius, headquarters of the World Liberty Congress (WLC).

will debate in the Lithuanian capital until Wednesday with the aim of building an alliance for freedom and a common agenda.

"We made the decision to unite for the freedom of our countries. This is not a conference, but a discussion on priority issues, such as grassroots freedom activism, political prisoners, the war for narrative and combat against misinformation, initiatives against corruption, technology to achieve freedom and the global promotion of the shared agenda that comes out of our working groups," Venezuelan leader Leopoldo López explains to EL MUNDO.

The WLC was born precisely from the meetings and debates between the Russian dissident

, the Iranian journalist

and López himself.

"We all know that dictatorships work together and learn from each other," says the leader of Voluntad Popular.

In fact, the dictatorial regime of

was able to survive the challenge launched in 2019 from the presidency in charge of

, the democratic Parliament and the international community thanks to the support of the Venezuelan generalate and its world allies, starting with Russia and Cuba and continuing. by Iran, Turkey and China.

"On the other hand

; we not only with Cubans and Nicaraguans, but also with the rest," López emphasizes.

Among the participants, the promoters and their long list of guests stand out, which at the moment is not fully public for security reasons.

There are not only those who are persecuted, but also those who may suffer reprisals when they return to their country.

"It is an event designed by activists against activists

," the Hispano-Cuban

, who also participated in the previous debates and who travels to Lithuania knowing that the meeting takes place under "a simple premise: if the tyrants are united , tells this newspaper So

do we.

all work together, they are part of a remarkable and abject alliance. This makes it a global problem that we have to face as such."

Those who will not be there are those who have not been able to travel, as is the case of

, vice president of the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba, who is "regulated" by the government, the euphemism used for the persecuted who are prevents you from traveling abroad.

"Democracy and human rights are almost the only and best guarantee of global security, beyond their intrinsic value.

that passes through alliances that privilege democracy as a framework for relations between states, independent of the regional affiliation of the countries.

Lithuania and Taiwan have more to do with Lithuania than Russia does despite historical relations, cultural ties and geographical proximity," Cuesta Morúa points out to EL MUNDO from Havana, who also insists on the importance of greater connection between civil societies. ,

.

The meetings start today but the harassment does not stop at any time.

"If you convince your daughter to stop what she's doing, then we're going to solve your housing problem and the operation you need," Castro's State Security told the mother of

, director of Cubalex and a of those invited to the meeting in the Baltic country.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• Lithuania

• Cuba

• Russia

• Taiwan

• China

• Turkey

• Iran

• Juan Guaido

• Nicholas Maduro

• Leopold Lopez