FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, D.C., September 10th, 2024 – Cuban exiles residing in the D.C. area, along with Rosa María Payá, daughter of the late Cuban civic leader Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, are visiting the offices of congressmen and congresswomen to urge support for the Oswaldo Payá Way bill (H.R. 1239).
The proposed bill seeks to rename the street in front of the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C., as “Oswaldo Payá Way” in honor of Payá’s enduring legacy as a champion of democracy and human rights in Cuba.
“My father dedicated his life to promoting freedom and justice for the Cuban people,” said Rosa María Payá. “Renaming the street in front of the Cuban embassy would be a powerful symbol of the United States’ commitment to supporting those who struggle for liberty and democracy. The support of the House of Representatives will resonate deeply within the Cuban-American and Hispanic communities across the United States.”
John Suárez, executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba, who is joining the effort to lobby for the bill, added, “We believe this bill is a vital step in honoring Oswaldo Payá’s memory and acknowledging his contributions to the cause of freedom.”
Last year, the bill passed unanimously in the Senate just one week after the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ruled that the Cuban government was responsible for Oswaldo Payá’s assassination. It is now under consideration by the House of Representatives.
About Rosa María Payá
Rosa María Payá is a Cuban democracy activist and human rights defender. In 2015, she founded Cuba Decide, a citizen initiative advocating for the transition of Cuba’s political and economic systems to democracy through a binding plebiscite. She is the daughter of Oswaldo Payá, a prominent human rights advocate awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize and a two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, who was killed by the Cuban regime in 2012. Rosa María holds a degree in Physics from the University of Havana, completed the Global Competitive Leadership program at Georgetown University, holds a Master’s in Public Administration with a focus on Global Leadership at Columbia University.
Her professional engagements include speaking at various universities in the United States and Latin America, as well as at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Concordia Summit of the Americas, the Organization of American States, the Freedom Forum, the United States Congress, and several European and Latin American parliaments. Her work has been recognized with several awards, including The Common Sense Courage Award in 2022, the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI) Ileana Ros-Lehtinen International Leadership Award in 2020, and the Morris Abram Human Rights Award by UN Watch in 2019. The city of Miami has also recognized her efforts by declaring July 22 as the Day of Victims of Communism in America.
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