Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas (CEDA)

Background

The Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas was founded in 2006 by pro-Cuba advocate Sarah Stephens, and was originally known as the Center for Democracy in the Americas. ³ Although the majority of its work is focused on Cuba, it has conducted policy and immigration research in other Latin American countries such as Colombia and Panama. ⁴ Bea Edwards, the former executive director of the Government Accountability Office, is a board member of CEDA. ⁵

CEDA disseminates its ideas through a weekly periodical, U.S.-Cuba News Brief (formerly Cuba Central News Brief). ⁶

It also tracks Cuba-to-U.S. immigration patterns. According to its data, fiscal year 2022 saw the most attempts at illegal immigration from Cuba in the last 44 years. That year, U.S. authorities had around 220,000 encounters with attempted Cuban emigres, up from 40,000 the previous year. CEDA defines an “encounter” as contact with any U.S. authority, including those resulting in expulsion or detention. ⁷

In November 2016, on the death of longtime Cuban Communist dictator Fidel Castro, then-executive director Sarah Stephens released a controversial statement saying that some Cubans “will be expressing pride in the accomplishments of the Cuban revolution.” Current executive director Maria Jose Espinosa Carrillo appeared to distance CEDA’s stance from such statements, saying they “do not reflect the group’s current views.” ^{2 8}

In Our National Interest Report

The Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas’s report In Our National Interest enumerates its reasons for a shift in the U.S. stance toward Cuba. The report quotes director of anti-sanctions group USA Engage Jake Colvin as saying the sanctioning of the island “simply isn’t rational.” ¹

The report says the U.S. economic sanctions on Cuba have failed, in part due to foreign investment in Cuba’s economy by China and Venezuela which have caused it to thrive economically beyond some other Latin American countries. Further, it states that lifting these outdated economic sanctions would result in “upwards of a billion dollars” in tax revenue, again referencing the $560 million in Chinese exports to Cuba in 2005. ¹

CEDA’s report also claims that enforcing travel bans to Cuba drains funds that would be better spent on the war on terror. It also states that the policy interferes with Cuban American families, and “infringes” on the travel rights of U.S. citizens. It makes references especially to Christian groups which have been prosecuted for sightseeing while travelling to Cuba to distribute Bibles. ¹

Sponsored Delegations to Cuba

The Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas provided the financial backing for numerous American delegations to Cuba, including some featuring members of U.S. Congress. In April 2024, CEDA sponsored a delegation featuring Congressional Progressive Caucus U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). ²

LGBT Issues

In May 2018, the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas hosted a five-day delegation with discussions centered on LGBT and gender equality issues. Delegates included Christine Quinn, a former New York City Council Speaker and CEDA board member. Nadine Smith and Stratton Pollitzer from LGBT activist group Equality Florida were also present. This was a follow-up to a visit from U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) who met with representatives from Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX) in 2017. ^{9 10}

A similar delegation was sent in May 2019 to take part in Cuba’s Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia events. This group was led by former Obama administration ambassador to the Dominican Republic Wally Brewster and met with Cuban LGBT activists and artists. ¹¹

Women’s Leadership

The Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas and the Ford Foundation hosted a women’s leadership delegation to Cuba in 2017 featuring Samira Cook Gaines and Sandra Miles, co-founders of Global Empowerment Solutions. Foreign Policy Group chief executive officer David Rothkop and Oxford University Professor Linda Scott were also present. A similar delegation of women leaders was sent in 2019 to discuss the impacts of U.S.-Cuba foreign policy, business, and arts relations. ^{12 13}

People

Sarah Stephens, the founder and former executive director of the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas (CEDA), is the founder of Platform for Innovation and Dialogue with Cuba. This group was active from 2017 to 2020 and engaged in similar advocacy work to CEDA. ^{14 15}

Maria Jose Espinosa Carrillo is the executive director of the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas and is a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, where she formerly worked as an analyst. She is a former economics professor at the University of Havana. ¹⁶