Survivor story: Gabriela Blanco
EXPOSING THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF SOCIALISM
Pictured: Gaby Blanco
Gaby Blanco was born in 1990 in Havana, Cuba, during a time of extreme hardship following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Her early years were filled with love and strong family values, but also economic struggle. Her parents shielded her from the worst of it, often going hungry so she could eat, biking to school in the absence of public transportation, and living without electricity.
A refrigerator was a luxury her family could not afford until she was five, relying instead on neighbors for cold storage, which was just something that seemed normal to her at the time.
Her family’s ultimate goal was to leave Cuba, a dream her father pursued and over time, he fled to Bolivia and Peru before finally reaching the United States with her siblings.
Gaby was apart from them for almost 10 years, a painful separation that deeply impacted her view on the importance of the nuclear family.
Escaping CUBA’S Socialist Nightmare
At 23, Gaby took a bold step, moving to the Cayman Islands to work as a hotel waitress. Securing a job over the internet, she was terrified but determined.
“When you’re born in Cuba, nothing is greater than the fear that you may never be able to leave,” she explained.
Gabby’s grandfather taking her to school in his bicycle, Havana, late 1990’s.
She shared a room, worked tirelessly for 10 months to buy a car, and, for the first time, was paid what she earned. Her determination and job allowed her to pursue a Master’s degree in Event Management. Her work allowed her to see for the first time how families and the community treated each other with genuine care and love for one another.
One of the biggest shocks for Gaby was learning how a successful society functions. In Cuba, survival was the priority, and generosity was rare. But in the Cayman Islands, people doing well gave back to their communities, participating in beach clean-ups and social programs—something she had simply never seen before.
Finally, at the end of 2019, Gaby was granted a “Permanent Resident Card,” commonly known as a “Green Card,” granting her the opportunity to move to the United States. She settled in Austin, Texas, working in the construction industry as a Project Manager.
Shortly after, she met her husband, a fellow immigrant from Venezuela. Together, they came to faith in Christ, got baptized, and embraced the religious freedom that had been denied to them in their home countries.
The Brutality of Socialism: A Family’s Loss
Gaby’s grandfather was an early supporter of Fidel Castro’s revolution. He believed Castro’s promises that socialism was not communism, and that Cuba would be better off under his leadership. Her grandmother, however, never trusted the regime.
She was right.
The family’s small printing business, which sold religious cards and souvenirs, was seized by the government, without warning. Armed officials arrived one morning, demanded the keys, and declared that everything now belonged to the government without compensation.
Just like that, with one arbitrary decision by the communist Castro Regime, Gaby’s family had no ability to keep anything. Her family, like so many others, was left with nothing.
It wasn’t just economic freedom that Cubans gave up when Castro seized power—they lost their freedom of speech, as well. Gaby’s father experienced this first-hand. He was told exactly what he could and couldn’t say at school. Joining the Communist Party wasn’t an option, it was an expectation. Those who refused were blacklisted, denied opportunities, and harassed.
If a family planned to leave Cuba, the government targeted them and publicly humiliated them by encouraging organized student mobs to throw rocks and paint at their homes, and label them “traitors” and “evil.”
Gaby with her Dad & siblings in Cuba, & when they reunited, in the US.
Gaby remembers being forced to march in front of the U.S. Embassy as a child, chanting anti-American slogans. “Castro was able to sell this incredible lie to everyone,” she reflected. “Who doesn’t want a more equal society where everyone does well?
But that’s not what socialism delivers.
The Growing Threat in America
Now living in the United States, Gaby sees alarming similarities between Cuba’s socialist propaganda and the popular socialist rhetoric in American politics.
Censorship
In Cuba, criticizing the government was a crime and considered “hateful.” In America, dissent is now labeled "hate speech."
She pointed out that her husband also sees the similarities from growing up in Venezuela.
Gaby said, “My husband says it’s the exact same wording, the government tells [you] what is discriminatory, hateful and offensive. Who decides what is hateful? The government does.”
Abortion As A Political Tool
Cuba was one of the first countries to legalize abortion, promoted as a way to keep women in the workforce and weaken the family unit. The messaging around abortion in the U.S. today mirrors this narrative by keeping families broken up, separating children from their parents, and focusing their attention on serving the State.
The War on Religion
Fidel Castro banned Christmas for 30 years, declaring Christianity to be oppressive and outdated. “Today, in America, Christianity is demonized, called racist, regressive, and evil…It’s not even creative,” Gaby said.
Social Violence and Decay
In Cuba, the government made cigarettes and alcohol widely available, fueling social unrest. Gaby sees similar patterns in the U.S. today, especially during the Covid lockdowns where churches were closed but people could still purchase drugs and alcohol.
Gaby cautions how these parallels are red flags, “You live in America today; you are part of the 1%,” she says.
“Of course, there are problems, but people don’t understand how bad socialism is until they live it.”
Educating the Next Generation ABOUT SOCIALISM
Seeing young Americans embrace socialism has been heartbreaking for Gaby. She felt compelled to act, searching for a platform to share her story.
Gabby speaking to students at Odessa High School as part of the Dissident Project, September 2024.
She connected with the Dissident Project, where she now speaks to high school students, exposing the realities of socialist regimes. She also writes for Young Voices, challenging misconceptions about socialism and communism.
One of the biggest challenges is that many young Americans see socialism as a solution rather than the source of suffering. “They attack their own country, calling it evil,” Gaby says.
“Anyone who tells you America is irredeemable isn’t trying to fix it—they want to destroy it.”
As a challenge when speaking to young Americans who support socialism and hate capitalism, Gaby likes to ask about corruption and bureaucracy in America, stating she agrees with the issue, yet asks:
“What do you think that looks like in a socialist country? Do they think [socialist governments] create less corruption when you have power in the hands of fewer people? If they think the government is greedy or people don’t make enough money, what do they think it looks like in a socialist country? Because it’s not better.”
Gaby’s Call to Action: Protecting Family, Faith, and Freedom
Gaby’s journey from oppression to freedom has solidified her belief in three core values: family, faith, and country. These are the pillars of Western civilization, and socialism seeks to dismantle them.
“We must protect what we have,” she warns. “Freedom is always one generation away from extinction,” quoting President Reagan.
For Gaby, the fight against socialism isn’t theoretical, it’s personal. If Americans don’t wake up to the warning signs, they may find themselves facing the same nightmare she fought so hard to escape.
Connect with Gaby on Instagram and X.
We are thankful to Gaby for sharing her story with us and our audience.
If you would like to share yours, we want to hear it. Please reach out to us!
It’s an honor to memorialize these stories and share them in order to learn from history.
If you enjoyed reading this article and would like to help Young Americans Against Socialism create more resources like this, please donate to our cause!