Inside Cuba’s Police State: From Ration Cards to Black Berets with Gelet Martínez Fragela

Conversations with Coleman

The Free Press

Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.5 • 614 Ratings

🗓️ 27 October 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My guest today is Gelet Martínez Fragela, a Cuban journalist and political refugee whose outlet is banned on the island. We trace Cuba’s path from independence to dictatorship, and separate myth from reality on the embargo, healthcare, and poverty. Gelet describes ration cards, compulsory “labor camps,” and why Cuba’s incarceration rate is among the world’s highest. We also dig into the regime’s information warfare, from cozy ties with the PFLP to state media claiming Israel “nuked” Syria, and how Chinese paramilitaries trained Cuba’s anti-riot police. We end on the protests of July 11, 2021: what ignited them, why they mattered, and what a serious U.S. policy would prioritize now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to another episode of Conversations with Coleman. My guest today is Helette Martinez
0:05.7	Fragela. Helette is a Cuban-born journalist and television producer who became a political
0:11.3	refugee after leaving Cuba. She founded ADN Cuba and later launched ADN America, where she serves as
0:18.3	founder and editor-in-chief. In this episode, we talk about the state
0:22.3	of human rights in Cuba today. We talk about the legacy of Fidel and Raul Castro. We talk about
0:28.3	the minority report-like system used by the Cuban police to arrest dissidents. We talk about China's
0:34.5	involvement in propping up the Cuban regime. We talk about the Cuban regime's role in supporting terror groups.
0:40.3	We talk about the labor camps that Cuban children were sent to, and much more.
0:44.6	So without further ado, Helette Martinez-Fragela.
0:57.4	Now all the traitors present?
0:59.7	Let's get started, shall we?
1:01.1	From rags to riches.
1:02.4	I'm so sick of this.
1:04.3	Working like a dog and being treated worse.
1:06.1	Yorkshire to New York.
1:07.5	For climbers, you and me.
1:09.6	A life dedicated to revenge.
1:12.0	Let's make this an occasion to remember.
1:15.3	A woman of substance on Channel 4 starts tonight at 9.
1:18.6	Okay, Halit, thank you so much for doing my podcast.
1:20.0	Thank you for inviting me.
1:24.3	It's been a few years since we chatted, and I was very impressed by you then, and I'm very impressed by ADN Cuba and ADN America, the journalistic
	...

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