Survivors at congressional roundtable warn that socialism can lead to repression

At a congressional roundtable, survivors of communist regimes and Republican lawmakers told personal stories to illustrate what they described as the human costs of socialist and communist systems and urged Americans not to embrace such ideas.

Conference chair Lisa MacLean opened the session by saying the event was meant to center "real people who actually lived under communism." She introduced a sequence of speakers who described life under Cuba's, Venezuela's, China's and the Soviet Union's systems and urged teachers and journalists to carry those testimonies to a broader audience.

Nicole Meliatakis described her mother's flight from Cuba and argued that "socialism is communism light," saying it leads incrementally to shortages and diminished freedoms. "They stole his home," she said of property seizures her family experienced; she urged education to prevent what she called "indoctrination" in schools.

Carlos Jimenez, introduced as a U.S. congressman who spent part of his childhood under Cuba's system, showed photos contrasting East and West Germany and described what he called the Cuban regime's turn from early denials to an explicit Marxist-Leninist orientation. He cited Article 5 of the Cuban constitution and penal-code provisions he said criminalize dissent, and said those laws make peaceful protest punishable by imprisonment.

Maria Salazar, identified in the program as a member of Congress, framed Venezuela as an example of how democratic institutions can be used to consolidate power. She introduced dissident leader Jose Daniel Ferrer, who described repeated arrests and lengthy imprisonment and said he witnessed torture, extreme hunger and deaths in custody.

Other speakers recounted personal experiences across multiple countries. Pastor Ezra Jin described arrests of church leaders in China and thanked U.S. officials who intervened on his behalf; Karina Lipsman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation described childhood indoctrination in Soviet Ukraine and urged teacher training; and Mike Gonzalez of the Heritage Foundation recounted harassment in Cuba and criticized U.S. cultural institutions he said could foster grievances.

Speakers repeatedly framed their testimony as a civic warning: they urged electoral engagement, media coverage, and curricular efforts to ensure younger Americans learn about the historical consequences of authoritarian socialist systems. A question-and-answer session with media followed the panel.

The roundtable produced first-person accounts and policy appeals rather than formal legislative action. Organizers indicated media engagement and further outreach as next steps; the session then moved to a Q&A for reporters.