Not only is Raul Suarez the (former) Pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, he is also a member of Cuba’s parliament.
But more importantly Mr. Suarez is high up in the Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba which has long and deep ties to the Alliance of Baptists
Indeed, the Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba is called "the Cuban arm of the Alliance of Baptists."
From an Alliance Of Baptists December 2006 newsletter (pdf):
Also reflecting on the makeup of the conference participants, Martin Luther King Center founder and director Raúl Suárez, another member of the Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba, noted that nearly half of those present were under the age of 40. Suárez, at age 72 the eldest participant, is the retired pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Havana and is also an elected member of Cuba’s national parliament.
From the Alliance Of Baptists’ own website:
Cuba Partnerships - Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba
(Fraternidad de Iglesias Bautistas de Cuba)
Since 1991 the Alliance of Baptists has enjoyed a fruitful partnership with the Fraternidad de Iglesias Bautistas de Cuba [Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba]. Our respective journeys have been remarkably similar…
Both bodies began with an intensive study of the Bible, Baptist history and the socio-theological context of their respective situations. And both came to the conclusion that the context demanded restatements of basic Baptist values and new expressions of those principles. Soon enough representatives of the Alliance and the Fraternidad began to find each other…
At the institutional level, the partnership between the Fraternidad and the Alliance began to take shape in 1990 when Rodés invited Alliance Acting Executive Director Alan Neely to organize a visit to Cuba by a group of Alliance pastors…
Given the startling similarities in our origins and historical-theological perspectives, it is little wonder that the Fraternidad and the Alliance came to see themselves as spiritual twins or that this kinship would result in a joint project of fostering sister-church relationships. Indeed the tie between these two bodies of Baptists has become a model of what productive 21st century mission partnerships will be like.
So it would seem highly probably that Cindy Sheehan and CodePink are using a religious license supplied by the Alliance of Baptists to travel to Cuba illegally.
Now I understand.