Anzhelika Melnikova, president of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition organization Bypol, has been missing for more than two months following a likely trip to Cuba.
Alexander Azarov, head of BYPOL, stated to the Polish channel Belsat that the most likely theory they have regarding Melnikova’s disappearance is that she flew to Cuba on vacation, where she was detained and handed over to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.
Melnikova, who holds Polish citizenship, had previously traveled to the island for vacation.
Polish authorities have opened a secret investigation into the probable kidnapping of the prominent opposition figure – perhaps the most important person in the Belarusian resistance after Svetlana Tikhanovskaya – who had told her close associates that she planned to go on vacation.
The opposition leader flew from Poland to London on February 26, accompanied by her two daughters, aged 13 and 17, where her trace disappears starting March 25.
Earlier, she had told her colleagues that she was sick with COVID, and on the 13th of that month someone used her phone to access the files of the BYPOL Coordination Council from an alleged Belarusian IP.
Melnikova’s daughters ended up shortly after in Belarus, where someone handed them over to the ex-husband of the opposition figure, Azarov explained.
Azarov rejects the version that the opposition leader fled after stealing money from the Coordinating Council, arguing that the amount of money is small (about 100,000 euros), and it would be impossible to hide from INTERPOL for long.
In this way, Azarov supports the hypothesis that Melnikova spent some time with her daughters in London before flying to Cuba.
“In 2022, I met Angelika at an economic forum in Karpacz, and she told me she was going on vacation to Cuba. She had just returned and showed me cigars from there, saying she liked it a lot and that Cuba is a very inexpensive country, perfect for a wonderful vacation. She went alone, according to her,” reported the head of BYPOL.
“If you enjoyed Cuba and nothing happened to you there in the past, and you are now planning a new vacation, then you might fly to Cuba again,” Azarov suggests.
Azarov explains that it may seem surprising that Melnikova decided to vacation in an ally of the Belarusian regime, but clarifies that, in 2022, she was simply an employee in the office of Pavel Latushko, the leader of the Anti-Crisis Management and collaborator of the missing woman in the Constitutional Court, who is also in contact with Polish authorities regarding the investigation.
The opposition figure may have lied about her illness in London, as a vacation would be viewed negatively within the opposition ranks, Azarov explains.
The head of BYPOL concludes that, although Melnikova’s arrest could have been celebrated with fanfare by the Minsk regime, as has happened before with other opponents, in this case, they have kept it secret because they were unaware of the recent Polish naturalization of the opposition figure.
Azarov recalled that Cuba does not hide its cooperation with the Belarusian authorities.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Disappearance of Anzhelika Melnikova and the Relationship between Cuba and Belarus
Anzhelika Melnikova is the president of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition organization Bypol and a prominent figure in the Belarusian resistance. Her disappearance is significant because it may be linked to a kidnapping orchestrated by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, possibly in collaboration with Cuba, a close ally of Belarus. This has prompted a secret investigation by Polish authorities.
Cuba and Belarus maintain a close economic and military relationship. The Cuban government seeks Minsk engines in Belarus due to their “strategic importance” for Cuban agriculture, and both countries participate in a mutual trade plan that includes the exchange of products such as rum and coffee for agricultural machinery. Additionally, Belarus has sent humanitarian aid to Cuba following natural disasters in 2024.
Melnikova might have chosen to travel to Cuba because she had already visited the country recreationally and considered it an affordable and pleasant tourist destination. While it is surprising that she chose a country allied with the Belarusian regime, in 2022 she was merely an employee in Pavel Latushko’s office and did not have the same level of prominence in the opposition as she does now.
Alexander Azarov is the head of BYPOL, the opposition organization led by Melnikova. He maintains the theory that Melnikova was detained in Cuba and handed over to Lukashenko’s regime, and dismisses the notion that she fled after stealing money from the organization. Azarov is in contact with Polish authorities to investigate her disappearance.