As it was the case under General Pinochet in Chile, General Jaruzelski in Poland, or Marcos in the Philippines, Cuba's democratic activists seek a democratic transition to freedom.  While Fidel Castro claims they are "scum," "worms" and "traitors to the motherland" many world leaders have asked him to release political prisoners and to allow  a transition to democracy and the rule of law. 

During his visit in 1998, Pope John Paul II asked that "Cuba open itself to the world," and that "the world open itself  to Cuba." Much of the international community has indeed responded to the Pope's call to end Cuba's isolation, to the benefit of the Castro government. But as the Vatican has pointed out "Cuba is not opening to the world, as the Pope requested."  He asked Cubans not to be afraid, and "to be the protagonists of your own history"

During the Ibero-Americas Summit of 1999, held in Havana, several heads of state, and foreign ministers met with Cuba's courageous human rights leaders.