International Practice Chair Pedro Freyre spoke with CNN en Español on the first anniversary of the massive and emblematic protests that took place against the Cuban Government on July 11, 2021. Thousands of Cubans spontaneously took to the streets in dozens of cities across the island, in numbers not seen in decades. Protesters demanded changes in living conditions in Cuba, regarding shortages of food, medicine, and personal hygiene items; frequent blackouts and lack of electricity, and also to the restrictive measures taken by the government to control COVID-19 transmission, and to the state’s historic policy of repression, which, since the 1959 Revolution, has violated Cubans' rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Noted by CNN en Español as an international lawyer and expert on Cuban issues, Freyre reflected on the spontaneous protests and analyzed how this historic event affected the island's relationship with the United States.