Cuba Archive

What Cuba Archive does

Cuba Archive is a nonprofit human rights organization based in North Miami, Florida, founded by María C. Werlau to document human rights violations attributable to the Cuban state since the 1959 revolution. The organization operates three core research projects: Truth & Memory (a searchable database cataloging deaths and disappearances with victim profiles and case details), Cuba Salud (an investigation of forced labor and human trafficking in Cuban medical brigades deployed abroad), and Cuba in the World (an analysis of Cuba's international influence, diplomatic presence, and intelligence relationships). Its underlying technology consists of a public-facing relational database, a WordPress-based website, email newsletter distribution, and multimedia hosting for podcasts and video content; no commercial SaaS platform, mobile app, or API is offered.

The organization serves four primary audience segments: human rights researchers, academics, and advocates; U.S. and international policymakers and congressional members; journalists and major media organizations (the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Financial Times); and the Cuban diaspora community including families of victims. Cuba Archive's research has been formally cited in U.S. Congressional hearings, Italian Senate proceedings, Organization of American States panels, and U.S. State Department recognitions. Recent annual reports have documented 79 deaths in 2023, over 300 in 2022, and at least 83 in 2021.

Cuba Archive is funded primarily through donations from individuals, foundations, and supporters of Cuban human rights and democracy initiatives. All database access, reports, and publications are provided free of charge, and the organization does not monetize its data commercially. Founder María C. Werlau received the 2024 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Heroes Award for exposing forced labor in Cuban medical missions, representing the most significant recent institutional validation of the organization's work.

Name

Cuba Archive

Legal name

Cuba Archive

Website

https://cubaarchive.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cuba Archive is a nonprofit founded by María C. Werlau documenting human rights violations attributable to the Cuban state since 1959 through a searchable database of deaths, investigative reports on medical brigades, and research on Cuba's international influence.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Documentation and Research

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)

akta.pro primary industry

Transitional Justice, Accountability & Reparations (BPADAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

Keywords

• Human rights documentation
• Nonprofit research organization
• Victim case database
• Investigative advocacy reports
• Transitional justice research

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Cuba Archive operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through donations from individuals, foundations, and supporters of human rights and Cuban democracy initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cuba Archive is a nonprofit human rights organization that documents human rights violations committed by the Cuban state. It maintains a searchable public database of deaths and disappearances since 1959, publishes investigative reports on Cuban medical brigades and international influence operations, produces podcasts and multimedia content, and engages with policymakers, media, and the Cuban diaspora to advocate for transitional justice and accountability.

Product overview

Cuba Archive is a human rights organization operating as a single unified advocacy platform rather than a commercial product suite. The organization offers three core interconnected projects: 'Truth & Memory' (documenting deaths and disappearances with a searchable database), 'Cuba Salud' (investigating forced labor in Cuban medical brigades abroad), and 'Cuba in the World' (studying Cuba's international influence). Supporting these projects are sub-products including Reports & Publications, Multimedia content, Podcasts, Newsletters, Events, and Surveys. The organization does not offer a commercial SaaS product but rather provides public-facing research and documentation tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Truth & Memory A research project that documents the cost in lives of the Cuban revolution and studies transitional justice; underpins Cuba Archive's searchable database of documented deaths and disappearances and the organization's case-profile work for researchers, journalists, and policymakers.
• Cuba Salud A research project focused on myths about healthcare in Cuba and on forced labor and human trafficking of health workers in Cuban medical brigades abroad; provides reports, multimedia, and input/survey forms used by researchers, journalists, policymakers, and brigade participants to document exploitation.
• Cuba in the World A research project investigating Cuba's 'internationalism,' including its diplomatic presence and intelligence relationships abroad; supplies reports and multimedia for policymakers, journalists, and analysts studying Cuban state influence.
• Cuba Archive Database A searchable public database of documented deaths and disappearances attributed to the Cuban state since 1959, including victim profiles, case details, and multimedia testimonies; offered free of charge to researchers, journalists, policymakers, and victim families.
• Reports & Publications In-depth investigative reports and publications covering topics including human trafficking, medical brigades, human rights violations, and Cuba's international influence; available free of charge and used as primary citations by researchers, journalists, and policymakers.
• Podcasts (Stories of the Oppressed) Audio content including the 'Stories of the Oppressed' podcast series featuring testimonies from victims and witnesses of Cuban regime violations; produced for public education and used by journalists and advocates.
• Newsletters Regular email newsletters providing updates on Cuba Archive activities, human rights developments, and new research publications; distributed free of charge to subscribers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2023 report documented 79 deaths and disappearances attributed to the Cuban state
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• U.S. Congressional Human Rights CaucuscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2025Cuba Archive provided expert testimony and documentation for a congressional hearing on Cuba's medical missions and U.S. anti-trafficking enforcement, held in Washington, D.C.
• U.S. Department of StatecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2024Maria C. Werlau was honored with the Trafficking in Persons Heroes Award by the U.S. Department of State for her work exposing human trafficking in Cuban medical brigades.
• Italian SenatemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2024Cuba Archive contributed research and expertise for a Senate hearing on the unsustainable EU-Cuba agreement, held at the Italian Senate in Rome.
• Organization of American States (OAS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 May 2019Cuba Archive participated in a presentation at the OAS on Cuba's intervention in Venezuela as part of a panel on 'The Role of External Actors in Venezuela.'
• U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 September 2018Cuba Archive provided documentation and testimony for a congressional hearing examining Cuba's proliferation activities and its recent history of threats to the Western Hemisphere.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cubanet: Independent Miami-based news organization covering Cuba, providing on-the-ground reporting and serving the Cuban diaspora audience. Comparable to Cuba Archive as a Cuba-focused organization based in South Florida producing publicly accessible documentation for diaspora and international audiences.
• Prisoners Defenders: Spain-based human rights organization focused on political prisoners in Cuba, producing detailed case profiles and submitting reports to the UN. Directly comparable to Cuba Archive in Cuba-specific political prisoner documentation and UN/international policy advocacy.
• CADAL (Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo de América Latina): Latin American democracy and human rights think tank that publishes reports on Cuba and engages regional bodies such as the OAS. Comparable to Cuba Archive as a Latin America-focused human rights research and advocacy organization citing and supplying documentation for policy forums.
• Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation: U.S.-based nonprofit that documents victims of communist regimes, produces educational and advocacy content, and engages U.S. policymakers. Directly comparable to Cuba Archive in documenting Cuban-regime victims and influencing U.S. congressional and executive-branch discourse.
• Diario de Cuba: Spain-based digital outlet covering Cuban affairs, frequently cited by international media reporting on Cuba. Comparable to Cuba Archive in producing publicly accessible, internationally cited Cuba-focused documentation and journalism.

Broad incumbents

• Freedom House: U.S.-based NGO that produces country reports on political freedom and civil liberties, including Cuba, and is frequently cited by U.S. policymakers. Comparable to Cuba Archive in producing annual country-condition research and influencing U.S. Cuba policy debates.
• Amnesty International: Global human rights NGO that produces investigative research reports and campaigns, regularly cited in media and legislative testimony. Comparable to Cuba Archive in mission and research-driven advocacy output, though with a much broader country scope.
• Human Rights Watch: One of the largest global human rights research and advocacy organizations. Comparable to Cuba Archive as a documentation-driven human rights NGO whose reports are cited by policymakers, media, and international bodies, though HRW operates globally rather than focusing on a single country.

Emerging players

• WITNESS: International nonprofit that trains activists to use video for human rights documentation and advocacy. Comparable to Cuba Archive in using multimedia (video, testimonies) to document rights abuses for legal and policy use cases.
• National Security Archive (George Washington University): Research institute that archives and publishes declassified government documents on international affairs, including Cuba. Comparable to Cuba Archive as a publicly accessible, searchable documentation platform whose materials are cited in policy and journalistic research on Cuba.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuGFGm0dBqNlmn4k6oEeh3w
• Facebookfacebook.com/ArchivoCuba
• Xx.com/CubaArchive
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cuba-archive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cuba Archive