Some activists supporting the goals of the jihadist group Hamas on American college campuses received training and support in Cuba, according to a report by ADN America. The report highlighted Manolo De Los Santos, a far-left activist linked to inciting protests at Columbia University, with deep ties to the Castro regime and years of political engagement in Cuba.
De Los Santos, the executive director of The People’s Forum, an organization sympathetic to Communist parties in Cuba and China, has been involved in anti-Israel protests following Hamas’s attack on Israel in October. The People’s Forum has been encouraging protesters to emulate the violent Black Lives Matter riots of 2020.
De Los Santos, originating from the Dominican Republic and raised in the South Bronx, first visited Cuba in 2006 through Pastors for Peace. He participated in Marxist-driven liberation theology studies at Cuba’s Matanzas Evangelical Seminary. Reports suggest he has been traveling to Cuba since 2009 and has been praised in Cuban-regime press for his support.
In May 2023, over 300 activists from the US traveled to Cuba with The People’s Forum to meet with Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel during the communist “May Day” celebrations. The People’s Forum received a $12 million donation from tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, who has supported anti-Israel protests in the US.
In addition to De Los Santos, communist activist Onyesonwu Chatoyer, associated with the Venceremos Brigade and All African People’s Revolutionary Party, has also expressed strong anti-Zionist sentiments. The Peace Action Network, another far-left organization, has taken activists on solidarity trips to Cuba in the past.
