Soviet-Era Groups Push for Softer U.S.-Cuba Relations

Activist organizations with ties to the USSR are part of a movement delivering aid to Cuba and protesting sanctions.

Apr. 5, 2026 at 11:04pm

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A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found that pro-Soviet Union groups active since the Cold War are part of a movement pushing for softer U.S.-Cuba relations. At least seven groups involved in delivering humanitarian aid to Cuba to protest President Donald Trump's sanctions on the regime previously pushed Soviet-friendly agendas or had direct USSR ties, including the Democratic Socialists of America, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's daughter, and pro-China influencer Hasan Piker.

Why it matters

This case highlights how some leftist groups with historical ties to the Soviet Union are still working to undermine U.S. foreign policy and prop up the authoritarian Cuban regime, even decades after the collapse of the USSR. Their efforts to portray Cuba as a 'revolutionary' alternative to American capitalism obscure the regime's human rights abuses and economic failures.

The details

The 'Nuestra América Convoy' that delivered aid to Cuba included 'strategic partners' with Soviet-aligned groups like the U.S. Peace Council, International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), and National Lawyers Guild (NLG). These organizations have long histories of pro-Soviet and anti-American activism, with some having direct ties to the KGB and Communist Party USA. Despite the end of the Cold War, these groups have persisted in their efforts to turn American public opinion against U.S. policy toward Cuba.

  • On March 21, the Nuestra América Convoy delivered humanitarian aid to Cuba.
  • In November 2022, ICAP President Fernando González Llort told the National Network on Cuba that visiting Cuba is 'a political and truthful act' against America.

The players

Nuestra América Convoy

A group that delivered humanitarian aid to Cuba in March 2026 to protest U.S. sanctions on the regime.

U.S. Peace Council

A Soviet-aligned group that the CIA and U.S. Peace Council's former director say was created by the Soviets to campaign internationally against America.

International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)

An entity that the CIA and International Commission of Jurists exposed as a Soviet front group.

National Lawyers Guild (NLG)

A group that frequently took pro-Russia stances while denying it was a Soviet front, and helped create the IADL.

National Network on Cuba (NNOC)

A coalition of organizations that includes the Soviet-sympathetic Communist Party USA, CovertAction Institute, and Socialist Workers Party.

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What they’re saying

“Cuba is a time capsule for old communists to relive their revolutionary 1960s youth, and a cult destination for younger militants who are either fully indoctrinated or see their support as virtue signaling against the United States.”

— J. Michael Waller, Cold War scholar and former CIA operative in Latin America

“Each approved local resolution, each caravan, each brigade, each communication piece that dismantles the lie, it is a sharp blow against the policy of asphyxiation.”

— Fernando González Llort, President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP)

What’s next

The U.S. government may increase scrutiny of the pro-Soviet groups involved in the Cuba aid convoy and their ties to the Cuban regime.

The takeaway

This case highlights how some leftist groups with historical ties to the Soviet Union are still working to undermine U.S. foreign policy and prop up the authoritarian Cuban regime, even decades after the collapse of the USSR. Their efforts obscure the regime's human rights abuses and economic failures.