Miguel Sánchez was born in Holguín, Cuba, in 1960. He arrived in the United States in 1979 and graduated in June 1982 with a degree in Commercial Art from St. Paul Technical Vocational Institute in Minnesota.

After settling in Miami, he earned his certification as an electrocardiogram technician on March 7, 1984. Between 1985 and 1987, he participated in numerous personal-development programs and seminars in psychology, philosophy, literature, and business administration at the University of Miami, Florida International University, and Miami Dade College.

He also completed specialized studies in the workings of the mind, stress reduction, pain management, and hypnosis under the guidance of renowned professor Santiago Aranegui. On June 16, 2008, he received his certification as a counselor and hypnotherapist from the International Association of Counselors and Therapists in the United States.

Miguel is the author of four books: “Diario de la vida” (“Diary of Life”), “Vivencias cubanas” (“Cuban Experiences”), “Cosas de la vida” (“Things in Life”), and “Cuentos de Pepito” (“Pepito’s Stories”). He is currently preparing his fifth book, “Balas de papel: El niño mensajero” (“Paper Bullets: The Boy Messenger”), an autobiographical and historical work.

He is the founder and president of Miami Power Team Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization that he has led on a completely voluntary basis, without receiving a salary, since 1995. Its mission is to bring hope and support to children with terminal illnesses, children awaiting organ transplants, and those affected by cancer, autism, Down syndrome, and physical or visual disabilities.

The foundation’s work has received support and recognition from public and private institutions, including the White House, Walt Disney World, McDonald’s, Prudential Insurance Company, Pizza Hut, and Hope Florida. Miguel has also received numerous local, national, and international honors.

Through his dedication and commitment, thousands of children with special needs have been able to fulfill some of their dreams, while their parents have found hope, comfort, and the joy of seeing their children happy, even if only for a few hours.

Miguel served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Medley Chamber of Commerce. On June 6, 2022, City of Medley Mayor Roberto Martell and the Town Council designated Northwest 69th Avenue as “Miami Power Team Foundation Way.” On June 21, 2023, the Miami-Dade County Commission officially ratified the designation.

Since 2024, Miguel has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Cuba Independiente y Democrática (Cuban Independent and Democratic Organization, or CID).

He is also the founder and president of Proyecto Los Plantados, Inc., an organization devoted to preserving and sharing the history of Cuban political prisoners, those executed by firing squad, those killed in combat, and, in particular, the prisoners known as “Los Plantados.” Its website, losplantados.com, has been active since October 20, 2006.

Beginning in childhood, Miguel served as a courier and messenger for Cuban political prisoners. He secretly carried tiny letters known as “balitas,” or “little bullets,” out of the prisons, along with reports intended for audiences abroad and messages for other prisons and the prisoners’ families.

Between the ages of 12 and 19, he clandestinely removed from several prisons operated by the Castro regime the manuscript of Armando Valladares’s first book, “Desde mi silla de ruedas” (“From My Wheelchair”). The book’s publication helped propel the international campaign that ultimately led to Valladares’s release.

Miguel also smuggled out notes, testimonies, and information that Valladares later used to write “Contra toda esperanza” (“Against All Hope”), which became a New York Times bestseller and was translated into 18 languages.

In addition, he brought out portions of “Los Plantados,” written by his father, Nerín Sánchez Infante “Jardín de héroes” (“Garden of Heroes”), by Eduardo de Juan and the information and handwritten notes that Commander Huber Matos later used in writing “Cómo llegó la noche” (“How Night Fell”).

During those years, Miguel also delivered to the free world lists identifying those killed in combat in the Escambray, those executed by firing squad, and the prisoners known as Los Plantados. Among the documents he smuggled out was the list compiled by Raúl Pérez Coloma, known as “El Queso.” It contained the names of approximately 59,000 political prisoners and nearly 2,000 women imprisoned for political reasons, along with their prisoner numbers and the charges brought against them.

His dangerous work enabled an essential part of the history hidden behind the bars of the Castro regime to become known throughout the world.

Beginning at the age of 12, Miguel also served as Commander Huber Matos’s secret messenger and as one of the first links between Cuba’s prisons and the organization that would later become Cuba Independiente y Democratica (C.I.D.)

Between the ages of 12 and 19, Miguel succeeded in smuggling out of Cuban prisons—hidden in tiny notes known as “balitas”—facts and testimonies from an unknown chapter of history that Fidel and Raúl Castro sought to keep hidden.

Although he was only a child, the information he carried eventually reached three presidents from different countries: Rodrigo Carazo Odio of Costa Rica, François Mitterrand of France, and Ronald Reagan of the United States.

These three presidents took actions that changed the lives of numerous political prisoners, particularly those of Armando Valladares, Huber Matos, and Miguel himself. From 2012 to 2014, Miguel published and directed his own newspaper, “Letras y Voces News.” He also participated in several Miami radio programs. For seven years, he appeared weekly on La Poderosa radio station on programs hosted by comedian Eddie Calderón and historian Enrique Encinosa.

Between 2024 and 2025, with the collaboration of Armando Valladares, he hosted his own program on Radio Mundo, titled “Eco de Voces” (“Echo of Voices”). In 2024, Miguel was selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who in America in recognition of his humanitarian and executive achievements. The distinction covered the years 2024, 2025, and 2026, and his recognition appeared in The Wall Street Journal on June 12, 2025.

On June 5, 2026, he obtained his State of Florida license to work as a life, health, and annuity insurance agent. Today, he also devotes part of his time to helping others turn their entrepreneurial dreams into reality.

In his personal life, Miguel raises monarch butterflies, finches, and Silkie chickens, and grows grapes in his backyard. He owns the registered trademarks Cuentos de Pepito® and Plantados™. Yet, above all his projects and accomplishments, he considers his family the most important part of his life.