Survivor story: Gabby Blanco
EXPOSING THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF SOCIALISM
Pictured: Gabby Blanco
Gabby Blanco was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1990, 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 couldn’t 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.
Gabby was separated 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, Gabby 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 Gabby 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, Gabby was granted a green card 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
Gabby’s grandfather was an early supporter of Fidel Castro’s revolution. He believed Castro’s promises that socialism wasn’t communism, that Cuba would be better off. 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 the arbitrary decision by the communist regime, Gabby’s family had no ability to take 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. Gabby’s father experienced this firsthand. 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.”
Gabby with her dad and siblings in Cuba, when they reunited, in the US.
Gabby 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 U.S., Gabby sees alarming similarities between Cuba’s socialist propaganda and the rhetoric gaining popularity in American politics.
Censorship
In Cuba, criticizing the government was a crime and to criticize the government was 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, Gabby 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, away from their children and keep them focused on performing for 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,” Gabby said.
Social Violence and Decay
In Cuba, the government made cigarettes and alcohol widely available, fueling social unrest. Gabby 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.
Gabby 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 Gabby. 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,” Gabby 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, Gabby likes to ask about corruption and bureaucracy in America, stating she agrees with the issue, but 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.”
Gabby’s Call to Action: Protecting Family, Faith, and Freedom
Gabby’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.”
For Gabby, 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 Gabby on Instagram or X.
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