This Monday, three Cuban opponents were arrested in Havana while they were about to hold a press conference to launch an initiative against violence, according to AFP. Manuel Cuesta, one of the detained opponents, reported via WhatsApp that he was arrested and subsequently taken to his home, where he remained under police guard. The arrest of Juan Antonio Madrazo, owner of the place where the conference was to be held, and the activist MarÃa Mercedes BenÃtez, who accompanied him, was also reported.
The dissidents summoned the international press to an apartment in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood to announce the launch of a global strategy against violence in Cuba, backed by 19 political, human rights, and feminist organizations. These organizations include the Council for Democratic Transition (CTDC), an opposition platform that seeks legal changes in the country, and the San Isidro Movement, a collective of protesting artists created in 2018.
In a statement, these organizations pointed to the public security crisis in Cuba, evidenced by the numerous femicides, murders, robberies, and assaults in broad daylight. In addition, they denounced the institutional violence normalized by the political system and expressed their joint work to achieve amnesty and decriminalization of dissent, initiatives against gender violence, the recovery of citizen sovereignty, the fight against institutionalized economic inequalities, and violations of the Constitution and laws on the island.
In Cuba, where the Communist Party (PCC) is in control, any form of opposition is considered illegal. Dissidents accused of receiving payments from the United States often face restrictions on leaving their homes and are regularly cut off from internet access.