Full Breakdown
NYC Mayor-alum’s Cuba Trip Raises Questions About U.S. Policy Stance
By Drooid · · How we work
Trip to Cuba and Meeting with President Miguel Diaz-Canel
In late October 2023, Danny Valdez—an advisor to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former DSA fundraiser—joined a delegation from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) International Committee on a four-day visit to Havana. The group stayed at the Grand Aston Havana, a five-star hotel with a rooftop pool and full bar, and met President Miguel Diaz-Canel on the third day. Valdez’s travel diary, obtained by the New York Post, records the meeting as an effort to discuss ending the U.S. embargo that has been in place since 1962.
Political Context and DSA Participation
The delegation, which included DSA national co-chair Ashik Siddique, was framed by its members as “champagne socialists” seeking to partner with the Cuban government. Valdez later founded the nonprofit Cuban Americans for Cuba in spring 2026, stating its goal is to end the embargo. He has also advised Mamdani on Cuba policy during the mayoral campaign and answered a 2025 DSA candidate questionnaire on the issue.
Official Statements & Responses
Neither Valdez nor the DSA delegation have faced criminal accusations related to the trip.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It was genuinely a big accomplishment for our delegation that this meeting took place. It was a sign that the Cuban government took our organization seriously and saw us as potential partners in the work of ending the US blockade,” — The Post. Danny Valdez
- “No other country has to operate under such conditions. Vietnam and China are not under blockade, and are able to develop their approach to socialism,” — Miguel Diaz-Canel, met with president
Data & Statistics
A study released by the Spain-based Cuban Observatory of Human Rights in August reported that 94 % of Cubans live in extreme poverty and eight-in-ten skip meals daily. The delegation’s luxury accommodations and meals, including a “sweet, blue concoction with rum” at a rooftop bar, were highlighted by Valdez as starkly contrasting the reported hardship.
These details illustrate how a U.S. political adviser’s Cuba visit intersected with longstanding embargo debates, while highlighting divergent portrayals of Cuban living conditions by participants and external observers.