They discover that a former leader of the UJC in Havana is now a businessman in Florida

Yuniel Báez Pedrera, former leader of the Young Communist Union (UJC) in Havana, has reemerged in the public scene, this time not as a spokesperson for revolutionary slogans, but as a businessman based in the city of Gainesville, Florida.

Báez Pedrera is believed to have arrived in the United States in September 2022, as reported by journalist Mario J. Pentón for Martí Noticias.

The transformation has been as radical as it is silent, establishing an increasingly common pattern among former communist leaders seeking new opportunities away from the island and the political system they once praised.

From the ideological apparatus to the southern border

For years, Báez Pedrera served as the first secretary of the Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas (UJC) in Havana, being a familiar face at official events and in the propaganda media of the Cuban state.

His speech, closely aligned with the ideological guidelines of the Communist Party, reflected a combative stance against any attempt to change the system.

In 2013, he stated emphatically: "While some bet on the new generations of Cubans to overthrow our social system, the youth are increasingly joining our revolutionary process."

Two years later, in 2015, he reaffirmed his vision of the youth's role in the continuity of the socialist model, proclaiming that the members of the UJC were “the soul of the nation.”

It was precisely in that same year that he was elected as the first secretary of the organization in the Cuban capital, coinciding with Susely Morfa González's rise to the position of Second Secretary of the National Committee.

However, all that journey came to an abrupt silence upon her arrival in the United States.

The cited media outlet revealed, based on the testimony of close sources, that on September 11, 2022, Báez entered the country through the southern border seeking political asylum.

Since then, he/she has been residing permanently in the United States.

His presence on social media also changed drastically: “his discourse, markedly aligned with official propaganda, disappeared from his networks after his arrival in the U.S.”

New Life in Gainesville: Business and Discretion

Less than two years after his arrival in the United States, Báez Pedrera is already listed as a registered businessman in Florida.

In April 2024, alongside his wife, Yanisleidy Domínguez Peña, he established the company Pa’La Familia LLC, a limited liability company based in the Floridian city of Gainesville, in Alachua County, where he currently resides.

According to the official documents from the Florida Department of State, the company specializes in "international package shipping, airline ticket sales, and document processing."

Additionally, on their social media, they promote the sale of "dollar food for Cuba, including combos and family shipments."

According to state records, the company was formally established on June 4, 2024, and is listed as active.

The official address of the company is the same location from which Domínguez Peña operates as the registered agent and manager of the entity. Báez, for his part, appears as the "Authorized Member."

The company, at the time of the last report, "does not have an FEI/EIN number," and "has not submitted annual reports up to its last update," which reflects its short business history.

Martí Noticias attempted to contact Báez Pedrera using numbers associated with his business, but "a man who answered claimed that this number did not belong to him."

Silence as a Strategy: Without Public Breakup

One of the most striking aspects of Yuniel Báez's new public profile is the complete absence of any reference to his political past.

The journalist Mario J. Pentón noted that there is also no statement or public manifestation marking a break with the Cuban regime.

In fact, "he has removed all public references to his political past, a common pattern among former regime officials who settle in the U.S."

This ambiguity has raised concerns in public opinion, especially among members of the exiled community.

First reactions

On social media, hundreds of Cubans have expressed outrage at what they consider a significant disrespect towards the exile community, questioning how such individuals are not deported.

The reactions were swift, and among the most emphatic was that of the renowned boxer Yordenis Ugás, who expressed on his social media his total rejection of what he described as a "disrespect towards the exile" and a case of profiting from the suffering of the Cuban people.

"This guy arrived here in 2022 and already has a food agency for Cuba... isn't that strange?" wrote Ugás.

The athlete also criticized the apparent silence of some sectors of the exile community regarding these cases, pointing out that many focus on attacking activists and content creators who oppose the regime from abroad, while remaining silent about the arrival of figures associated with the Cuban government.

"Many Cubans in exile who spend their time criticizing YouTubers and activists here, why don't they say anything about these?", he questioned.
"These are the ones that need to be pursued and denounced," he added.

Ugás was even more emphatic in describing the individual in question as a "communist rat, now capitalist businessman", accusing him of having benefitted from the system in Cuba and now profiting from abroad from the shortages that the same system has caused.

“They are not only here, in our community alongside those they have scorned for years, but on top of that, these are the ones who truly profit from the pain and misery of the Cuban people,” asserted the boxer.

"I hope everyone reports this rat [...] so that he can be sent back to Cuba to suffer hunger and hardship,” he added.

Finally, Ugás called on the exile community to channel their energy towards more strategic and effective goals.

“The energy and ill will that they have towards the people here, if it were used to demand freedom, to denounce these rats, we would be much better off. And people like this wouldn’t be laughing, hidden here in our own community,” he concluded.

A worrying pattern: Real change or ideological camouflage?

The case of Báez Pedrera is not an isolated phenomenon.

It falls within a growing trend of former Cuban officials, some of whom even have a history of repression, who have settled in the United States, many of them concealing their past.

Several similar cases have been documented, including the involvement of prosecutors and judges who participated in the trials against the protesters from July 11, 2021, many of whom are still imprisoned in Cuba.

The most famous case is that of Judge Melody González, whose asylum application was recently denied.

This kind of situation has raised alarms in political sectors of South Florida, especially among Cuban-American congress members.

These legislators have urged the administration of President Donald Trump, and later his successors, to "strengthen immigration controls and to prevent the entry or facilitate the deportation of former officials, oppressors, and other associates of the Cuban regime."

Frequently Asked Questions about former communist leader Yuniel Báez Pedrera and his new life in the United States