I grew up in Miami as the son of Cuban refugees. My father railed against Castro every day of my life. I watched how that conflict consumed him — and I spent my career asking the question it planted in me as a child: is there a better way?

After 25 years designing peace processes in Bosnia, Kosovo, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia — and after a lifetime carrying Cuba in my bones — I believe the answer is yes. But it requires a conversation that most people are not yet willing to have.

This page is where I think out loud about Cuba. About what a serious, sustained transformation would actually require. About the grief that drives the Miami hardline and why revenge is not a strategy. About the accountability problem that makes the regime rational in its irrationality. About what dialogue, done properly, could make possible.

I write here as a practitioner, as a Cuban-American, and as someone who believes the window for preparation is narrower than most people realize.

If you are working on Cuba — as a researcher, practitioner, donor, or Cuban — I would like to hear from you.

diazprinz@conflictmanagementspace.org