Scenes from the Sunday crackdown in Palma Soriano, Cuba

G2 agents tell detainees that actions against opposition activists in Palma were ordered by Raul Castro. - Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, on twitter on August 30, 2011

Members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) in Eastern Cuba with signs that read "No more tyrants", "Murderers - Beatings - No" and "Down with Terror" photo from Luis Enrique Ferrer's facebook page.

Update: Amnesty International urgent action for dissidents arrested in Cuba.

Over the past weekend the dictatorship in Cuba carried out repressive actions in Eastern Cuba and courageous Cubans responded by demonstrating against the violence. This stand led to them also becoming targets of regime violence as the videos below demonstrate.



Most of the international coverage has focused on the brutal assault on the Ladies in White earlier in the day but there was more and now there is video of what happened at one of the home's were a demonstration took place at the home of Marino Antomarchi Rivero on Sunday, August 28, 2011. CNN reported on the context in which events unfolded:

During the past five weekends, the government has strongly repressed peaceful protests in several eastern cities, said Elizardo Sanchez, the head of the island's unofficial Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. In at least one case, in the town of Palma Soriano, forces used gas -- either pepper spray or tear gas -- against one family, Sanchez said.

[...]

In one of the most recent incidents, on Sunday morning, a group of female dissidents were beaten and detained as they headed to Mass at the Palma Soriano's cathedral, Sanchez said. In protest of this act, two dissident groups declared they would hold closed-door vigils in certain homes, he said.

On Sunday evening, one of the homes was raided by riot police, Sanchez said. The government forces mistreated the 30 people at the home and destroyed many of the home's furnishings, he said.

Now Antomarchi Rivero had already been detained two days before but opposition activists on Sunday were gathered in his home when it was assaulted twice by state security and riot troops equipped with shields, rifles and tear gas who beat and detained 27 activists. During the second assault cameras and cell phones were seized and a number of images and videos were lost but not all. Video footage is from the UNPACU youtube account and offers sounds and images from Sunday. Including the after effects of a gaseous substance launched into Antomarchi's home by regime agents.



Over twitter Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia on his account, @jdanielferrer , over the course of a few tweets listed the names of the 27 detained activists at Antomarchi's home on Sunday: Bismar Mustelier Galan, Miguel Rafael Cabrera Montoya, Dany Lopez de Moya, Alexander Cala Reyes, Nibardo Amelo Ramirez, Osmanis Cespedes Napoles, Sergio Lescay Despaigne, Alexander Colon Fernandez, Alexeis Aguilsabal Rodriguez, Julio Cobas Rivero, Jose Enrique Martinez Ferrer, Ruben Adrober de Armas, Juan Carlos Figueroa Cala, Jose Antonio Elegica Zulueta, Roberto de la Rosa Estrada, Antonio Maso Cespedes,Angel lino Isaac Luna, Armando Sanchez la O, Reimundo Lopez Landazuri, Vitor Campa Almanares, Rolando Humberto Gonzalez Rodriguez, Rosney Vejerano Silo, Angel Luis Campa Almenares, Alexis Yancoy Cuan Jerez, Misael Valdes Vegas, Bismar Alvarez Arias and Ezequiel Pulido Pacheco.

"These are the names of our detained brothers and sisters" concluded Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia. He then went on to add that "Marino Antomarchi Rivero and Jorge Cervantes Garcia who were detained since Friday. The detention of activist Guillermo Cobas Reyes was captured on video.



On Tuesday, August 30, 2011 both Marino Antomarchi Rivero and Jorge Cervantes Garcia were released but learned of three other detainees of the Campa family. That means that the total number of activists still in detention as of Wednesday, September 1, 2011 in Palma Soriano is 30. According to Jose Daniel, the majority of the detainees are being held at the Versalles Unit. He ventures that those still detained have not been released to give time for their wounds to heal to avoid having them documented.

Jose Daniel over twitter listed those worse wounded over the weekend by the riot police: Miguel Rafael Cabrera Montoya, Alexeis Aguirresabal Rodriguez, Juan Carlos Figueroa Cala, Angel Lino Campa Almenares, Reimundo Lopez Landazuri and Angel Lino Isaac Luna. The list concluded with those hurt with injuries to the head: Ruben Adrober de Armas,Victor Campa Almenares and Miguel Cabrera Montoya.

One week ago, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia together with other opposition activists who desire to achieve democracy in Cuba, founded the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) that has as its principal objective the massive growth of the nonviolent struggle for democracy on the island. UNPACU describes itself as nonviolent but not passive and backed up their words with action.

Thanks to a combination of social media, video technology, courageous and imaginative activists the brutal practices of the regime in Cuba are being exposed to the world. The Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) in the space of a week has generated some of these images.