"The first victory we can claim is that our hearts are free of hatred. Hence we say to those who persecute us and who try to dominate us: ‘You are my brother. I do not hate you, but you are not going to dominate me by fear. I do not wish to impose my truth, nor do I wish you to impose yours on me. We are going to seek the truth together’. THIS IS THE LIBERATION WHICH WE ARE PROCLAIMING."
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas (2002)
"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Elie Wiesel, Nobel Lecture 1986
Protest for the freedom of all Cuban political prisoners will be held on Friday, November 8, 2019 at 12 noon in front of the Cuban Embassy (2630 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20009).
Cuba Decide, a citizen initiative to change the political and economic system in Cuba via a nonviolent process of transition towards democracy, is circulating the following images, calling for the protest, and highlighting the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) members who have been detained since October 1, 2019. The most high profile of the four arbitrarily detained is José Daniel Ferrer García, the leader of the organization. UNPACU was formed in 2011 and describes itself as a non-violent political organization.
Amnesty International on October 8, 2019 issued an Urgent Action titled Opposition Leader Detained (CUBA: UA 134.19) for Cuban opposition activist José Daniel Ferrer García. In the Urgent Action the human rights organization outlines the basis for this campaign:
"On 1 October 2019, Cuban authorities detained José Daniel Ferrer García, leader of the unofficial political opposition group “Patriotic Union of Cuba” (Unión Patriótica de Cuba - UNPACU) in Santiago de Cuba. He was held incommunicado for 72 hours and remains in detention without charges. Ferrer García should be informed of the charges against him or should otherwise be released, have access to lawyers of his choosing and to his family, as well as access to medical care."
This detention, along with three other members of the UNPACU group, coincides with Amnesty International’s naming of six Cuban prisoners of conscience in in August and September of 2019. The Urgent Action for José Daniel will continue through November 19, 2019, and all are welcome to take part.
There are systemic and profound problems with the Cuban legal system. On September 11, 2019 the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights released an important report analyzing the new Cuban constitution and the overall administration of the legal system in Cuba and concluded, in part, that:
"We have found that Cuban laws lack the necessary protections to ensure respect for due process and other human rights of persons accused of committing crimes. The guarantees that do exist are not respected by authorities in the majority of cases of independent activists."
The Castro regime has a long history of slandering and libeling opponents of the regime. The 2012 book Ready, Aim, Fire! Character Assassination in Cuba by Rafael Rojas analyses how the Cuban dictatorship systematically destroys reputations with a sustained mix of falsehoods, and exaggerations. Carlos Alberto Montaner in a 2011 presentation on the topic described how it is an intrinsic part of totalitarian regimes and its language of exclusion.
Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the presumption of innocence as a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial. However in a regime where the prosecution, judge and defense attorney must respond to the demands of the dictator how can the legal burden of proof be met, and triers of fact recognized as legitimate?
This is why on Friday, November 8, 2019 at 12 noon in front of the Cuban Embassy in Washington DC. (2630 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20009) people in good faith will peacefully gather to protest for the freedom of all of Cuba's political prisoners on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Castro regime tried giving Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia the death penalty in 2003 for his role in a petition drive.
They have not been seen since August 3, 2018
Activists not seen since Friday, August 3rd
On the night of August 3, 2018 Castro agents detained Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, the leader of the Eastern based Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), at the organization's principle headquarters in Altamira, Santiago de Cuba, reported his sister Ana Belkis Ferrer Garcia over twitter.
Liettys Rachel Reyes, Ferrer Garcia's wife, reported over Facebook that Dainier Suárez Pagá, a Cuban state security agent with a violent history was involved in an incident involving a car. Later it was learned that Jose Daniel was detained along with fellow UNPACU activist Ebert Hidalgo.
State Security agent and repressor Dainier Suárez Pagan
Ana Belkis identified a second regime agent named Dairon who lead a dozen Castro sicarios, in their two patrol cars in an operative against Jose Daniel on Friday night during the detention.
Three days have passed and neither Jose Daniel or Ebert has been seen by friends or relatives. They are concerned that they have been beaten up or worse. Liettys Reyes over twitter has demanded her husband, the father of her daughter, be immediately released.
An opposition family
One must review the historical record to understand the special animosity that the Castro regime has for the Ferrer Garcia family. José Daniel Ferrer García, his brother Luis Enrique Ferrer García and sister Ana Belkis Ferrer García have a long history of opposition activism.
The Ferrer Garcia Family: Luis Enrique, Ana Belkis, and Jose Daniel
They were born into a working class family in the neighborhood of
Manganeso in Santiago de Cuba. Both brothers began their activism in the opposition in the Movimiento Cubano de Jóvenes por la Democracia (Cuban Youth for Democracy Movement), and by the mid nineties had become members of Movimiento Cristiano Liberación (Christian Liberation Movement).José Daniel emerged as a leader in Santiago de Cuba and Luis Enrique in Las Tunas.
Both Jose Daniel and Luis Enrique were regional leaders who also became
regional organizers of the Varela Project. They both persuaded and organized other Cubans to knock on
doors and get their fellow citizens to sign their names and giver their
identity numbers in a petition demanding democratic and human rights
reforms to the Cuban Constitution. On May 10, 2002 the first batch of 11,020 signatures
were turned into the National Assembly. Less than a year later the
majority of the organizers of this initiative were rounded up beginning
on March 18, 2003. Seven months later more than another 14,000 signatures were turned in.
Both Ferrer Garcia brothers would face summary trials and a hostile
courtroom. Both men demonstrated their courage during their respective
political show trials.
During Luis Enrique’s show trial on April 3, 2003
in Las Tunas, the tribunal asked him if he had anything to say in his
defense. He stood up and explained to the regime’s representatives what
the Varela Project consisted of: an independent citizen initiative that
sought a referendum to reestablish basic rights. At the end of his
explanation he invited them to sign the petition stating, “Because this
is a project open to all Cubans.”
Luis Enrique Ferrer received the longest prison sentence of all of those
arrested in the March 2003 crackdown.
He was sentenced to 28 years’ imprisonment. He was transferred from "El
Típico" provincial prison in Las Tunas to the Combinado del Este prison
after being involved in a protest with other activists caught up in the
March 2003 crackdown.
With both brothers in prison their sister Ana Belkis Ferrer García
became active in the Ladies in White, a group of women that came into
existence during the 2003 Black Spring and sought the freedom of their
imprisoned loved ones. Confronting violent mobs with nonviolent
resistance and persistence in regular protests and actions to demand
their freedom. She would engage in solidarity hunger strikes when her brothers had gone on hunger strike due to some mistreatment they were suffering in order to highlight their plight.
His brother, Luis Enrique Ferrer García, campaigned for his release from exile and spoke at an international human rights conference in Geneva
calling for his brother’s freedom. This also led to Jose Daniel's wife
frustrated and outraged undergoing a hunger strike to demand her
husband’s freedom. More than four months after the deadline he was
finally released after more than eight years.
Since the latest detention of José Daniel Ferrer García on April 2, 2012,
his brother Luis Enrique has organized a campaign for his release and
is tweeting both from his own account and his brother’s twitter account
to raise awareness and solidarity.
UNPACU founded in August of 2011
Birth of UNPACU
On August 24, 2011 Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia founded together with other opposition
activists who desire to finalize the democratic process in Cuba, the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) that has as its principal objective the massive growth of the nonviolent struggle for democracy. It is an organization that describes itself as nonviolent but not passive.
In the midst of the descriptions of violence and repression visited on
Cuban pro-democracy activists by agents of the regime
in Cuba, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia made the following call to action for a free Cuba over twitter in 2011:
To democratize Cuba we
should obtain the massive growth of the resistance. For the resistance
to become massive we need rapid and effective communication with the
populace.
To achieve change in Cuba, we have to reach the people. For rapid communication with the populace, we need the technical means.
We cannot advance more in the democratization of our homeland for lack of technical means and the resources for them.
There is no struggle for the good without loses and without risks.
Who fears the risks never will achieve any advance in the struggle.
Being careful is one thing, not risking is something very different.
Great achievements are not obtained without great sacrifice.
Jose Daniel and the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU)
are right solidarity with those risking everything inside of
Cuba is needed along with the willingness of people of good will to take
risks for freedom on the island. Twitter Campaign
Today there will be a twitter campaign for the release of Jose Daniel and Ebert using the hashtags #FreeFerrer #FreeEbert #FreePoliticalPrisoners. I would also add #FreeEduardoCardet.
As we observe martyrs who died 21 years ago on February 24th and 7 years ago on February 23rd the Castro
regime is still creating new ones such as Hamell Santiago Mas Hernández.
Hamell Santiago Más Hernández age 45 died in a Cuban prison on February 24, 2017
Hamell Santiago Más Hernández, a political prisoner and an activist of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba (Unpacu), died on Friday, February 24, 2017 in the Combinado del Este prison located in Havana. Jose Daniel Ferrer over twitter charged that ill treatment and torture had led to Hamell's untimely death.
In the midst of observing the anniversaries of two grave injustices in Cuba last week ( the death of prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo on February 23, 2010 after years of torture, beatings and ill treatment and the February 24, 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shoot down when the Castro brothers ordered the destruction of two civilian planes in international air space killing Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr. Hamell's passing got minimum media coverage.
Meanwhile as Latin American democrats were barred from entering Cuba because of their solidarity with Cuban democrats shamefully American members of Congress remained publicly silent about these human rights concerns and focused on engaging in commerce with the Castro regime and military that controls the national economy of Cuba. Both The Washington Post and National Review called them on this lack of solidarity with democrats and appeasement with a communist dictatorship.
But what of Hamell Santiago and his family? Another name added to the long list of victims of the Castro dictatorship that too many in the world ignore in order to pursue their business deals with his killers. Sadly this is not unique to Cuba but has also been repeated in China, Vietnam, Iran, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to the detriment of international human rights standards over the past 15 years.
Despite the claims of some apologists for the opening to the Castro regime, Amnesty International in its 2017 country report does not report advances on human rights and notes that Cuba is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that does not allow them to visit.
That should not come as a surprise. If they Castro regime can't even tolerate a human rights award ceremony in a private home then how would they tolerate human rights monitoring in their repressive island prison?
It also means that there will be more Hamell Santiagos, Orlando Zapatas, Pedro Luis Boitels, and Oswaldo Payás that is not only the price of dictatorship but also of the indifference of too many of the world's democracies.
Uptick in arbitrary detentions in Cuba in January 2017
The Cuban Committee of Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) reported 487 arbitrary detentions in January 2017 that is an increase of 20 more detentions compared to December 2016. During the previous month repression both broadened and deepened impacting more Cubans more severely. Amnesty International recognized a new prisoner of conscience, Eduardo Cardet of the Christian Liberation Movement.
New prisoner of conscience: Eduardo Cardet
According to the CCDHRN there are currently more than a hundred political prisoners with 55 being active members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU). Furthermore the Ladies in White remain a prime target of the Castro regime's intelligence services and repressive apparatus and have been for some time.
Karina Gálvez , a Cuban intellectual who works for the independent publication Convivencia, was arbitrarily detained for six days and questioned over an unusually long period of time.
Over the course of January the CCDHRN documented 12 cases of physical aggression and 11 of harassment against opposition activists targeting nonviolent activists. This is a part of the policy of intimidatory repression against oppositionists that has been the rule in Cuba over the past 58 years.
The passing of Václav Havel and the marginalization of the Cuban opposition during the Obama Presidency had dire consequences. Rosa María Payá observed over twitter: "I have the feeling that the Cuban government did not decide to kill my father until Havel disappeared." Havel passed away on December 18, 2011and seven months later on July 22, 2012 her dad, Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, and best friend, Harold Cepero Escalante, were dead in what appears to be an extrajudicial killing engineered by Castro's intelligence service. Another factor that gave the regime the confidence that they could get away with murder where the signals provided by the Obama Administration distancing themselves from Cuban dissidents while reaching out to the dictatorship beginning in 2009. Rosa María in her testimony before the Senate explained on February 3, 2015: " The Cuban government wouldn’t have dared to carry out its death threats against my father if the US government and the democratic world had been showing solidarity. If you turn your face, impunity rages." International solidarity not only raises the morale of Cuban democrats but also provides some protection from the Castro dictatorship. It's reduction over the past eight years had devastating consequence for human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists.
"Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people" - Pope Francis, Homily in Havana, September 20, 2015
Yriade Hernández of UNPACU beaten by state security Sunday
On Sunday, October 11, 2015 over 300 nonviolent Cuban dissidents were arrested in Cuba, many of them violently. They were arrested for peacefully calling for the release of Cuba's political prisoners and in particular three Cuban dissidents who remain jailed for approaching Pope Francis and calling attention to the real and ongoing problems in Cuba that the dictatorship would like covered up. Below is the called made by Cuban opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer García calling on people of good will to demand their release and not remain silent. May the conscience of good people not be numbed.
Zaqueo Baez Guerrero, Ismael Bonet Rene and Maria Josefa Acón Sardiñas
SOS Three innocent lives at risk in Cuba.
This call for help for the lives of three humble and nonviolent
Cubans is addressed to Pope Francis, to the governments of the free
world, to organizations defending human rights and all people of good
will.
On the morning of Sunday September 20th, within minutes from the
start of the first Mass by Pope Francis in Cuba, three residents of
Calabazar village in the Cuban capital, with Biblical names and members
of a cell of the pro-democracy organization Patriotic Union of Cuba,
UNPACU, named “Felix Varela” passed through Security rings without
hurting anyone and approached the Bishop of Rome with the intention of
calling attention to the things that make our country a hell for the
lives of most Cubans.
Zaqueo Baez Guerrero, Ismael Bonet Rene and the outstanding Lady in
White Maria Josefa Acón Sardiñas, wanted the Supreme Pontiff, the
foreign press, and through this, the world, to know that in Cuba there
are political prisoners who survive in subhuman conditions, that we live
under a harsh dictatorship that tramples the rights and fundamental
freedoms of human beings, and that the repressive forces beat nonviolent women and men who just dream about a fraternal, fair, democratic and
prosperous Cuba.
These three good Cubans, Zaqueo, Ismael and Maria, are on hunger
strike as of Sunday September 20th, and later also of thirst, in the
infamous center for “investigations” at Aldabó and 100th Street in
Havana. They are accused of assault, disrespect, public disorder and
resistance. Their lives are in grave danger. With their strike they are
sending a clear message: they are not willing to serve prison time for
an action to which they were compelled by the criminal methods of the
Castro regime and the indifferent attitude towards the suffering of the
victims of repression displayed by institutions and personalities that
have a sacred duty to condemn abuses, all affronts to human dignity, and
to always be “good Samaritans”.
In an open letter to His Holiness Pope Francis, dated September 3rd, we
had already warned: “Many members of our organization and other groups
of independent civil society wish to attend your masses with discipline and
respect, but the secret political police will prevent
them as happened during the visit of your predecessor Benedict XVI. On
behalf of those who could spend the days of your historic visit in dark
dungeons, we also, from now, give you our warmest welcome.”
We had also written to the Cuban Bishops in order to inform them on
the brutal beatings and even torture against nonviolent human rights
defenders. The same day of the arrival of the Successor of Peter to
Havana, many dissidents were surrounded, and that same evening Berta
Soler, Martha Beatriz Roque and Miriam Leyva were arrested. The three
had been invited by the Church to be among those who would welcome the
Argentinian Pope on his arrival in the Nunciature. All this was
convincing Zaqueo, Maria and Ismael that there was no choice: They had
to raise the cry of an enslaved people in that square.
Zacchaeus and his wife Mary received permanent surveillance since the
day before, only the correctness of their intention, and perhaps their
biblical names and that of the UNPACU cell they belong to (Felix
Varela), could make it possible for them to avoid so many agents of the
secret political police and get to Francis on that Sunday morning.
Gallant Zaqueo rose to reach the representative of Christ, of whom he
had heard was a fair man, concerned about the persecuted and oppressed
of the earth.
Mary, like the mother of Jesus, suffered long ago the Stations of the
Cross of her people, her sisters the Ladies in White and her own.
Countless are the arbitrary arrests, beatings and other forms of cruel
and inhumane treatment. Ishmael, like Abraham’s son, knows what it means
to wander in the wilderness, be expelled, to live without rights, so he
thought he should overcome the fear that paralyzes, (John Paul II told
us: Do not be afraid), and that Sunday to do for his country what he had
never done and we all should do. Ismael thought, God will hear me.
The preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads:
“Whereas it is essential that human rights should be protected by the
rule of law, so that man is not compelled to have recourse to rebellion
against tyranny and oppression.” In Cuba we have a regime that blatantly
and cynically violates the civil and political rights, but also
economic, social and cultural rights. The Castro regime’s abuses
committed against the people are more than enough for Cubans to rebel
against injustice. Cuban democrats are people of peace convinced that
violence is never the best solution, so we persevere in our nonviolent
struggle in the midst of hatred and brutal repression.
Zaqueo, Maria and Ismael wanted (and succeeded in doing so, and all
Cubans are indebted to them), to draw attention to our difficult
reality. A complex reality that when a healthy solution is not sought in
time, ends fatally producing extreme situations like the one we see
today in Syria. Situations that the Pope, and all people of good will,
rightly condemn. Zaqueo, Maria and Ismael gave a prophetic cry, alerted
everyone and told us with their action: It’s okay to rejoice with the
process of normalization of relations between the US government and the
Cuban regime, but do not forget the victims of violations of human
rights, nor harbor any illusion that only that process will end the
suffering of an oppressed people.
Zaqueo, Maria and Ismael were arrested before Pope Francis and
before several television cameras. The images were seen around the
world. Now they have undergone 11 days on hunger strike and 6 without
consuming water. Dozens of nonviolent activists are now victims of
repressive actions for demanding their release. We fear for their
lives. Therefore this SOS, is aimed at every person of good will.
Thank you so much.
Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia.
General Coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU)
Original Spanish text:
SOS por tres vidas inocentes que corren grave peligro en Cuba. Este pedido de auxilio por las vidas de tres humildes y pacíficos
cubanos va dirigido al Papa Francisco, a gobiernos del mundo libre, a
organizaciones defensoras de los derechos humanos y a toda persona de
buena voluntad.
En la mañana del pasado domingo 20 de septiembre, cuando apenas
faltaban minutos para el inicio de la primera misa del Papa Francisco en
Cuba, tres ciudadanos vecinos del poblado de Calabazar, en la Capital
cubana, con nombres bíblicos y miembros de una Célula de la organización
prodemocrática Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU, que lleva por nombre
“Félix Varela”, franquearon los anillos de seguridad sin dañar a nadie y
se acercaron al Obispo de Roma con la intención de llamar la atención
sobre las cosas que hacen de nuestra patria un infierno para la vida de
la mayoría de los cubanos.
Zaqueo Báez Guerrero, Ismael Bonet Reñé y la también destacada Dama
de Blanco María Josefa Acón Sardiñas, querían que el Sumo Pontífice, la
prensa extranjera, y a través de ésta, el mundo, supiesen que en Cuba sí
hay presos políticos y que sobreviven en condiciones infrahumanas, que
vivimos bajo una férrea dictadura que pisotea los derechos y libertades
fundamentales del ser humano, que las fuerzas represivas golpean a
mujeres y hombres pacíficos que solo sueñan con una Cuba fraterna,
justa, democrática y próspera.
Estos tres buenos cubanos: Zaqueo, Ismael y María, desde el domingo
20 de septiembre se encuentran en huelga de hambre, y después también de
sed, en el tristemente célebre centro de “investigaciones” de 100 y
Aldabó, en La Habana. Los acusan de Atentado, Desacato, Desorden Público
y Resistencia. Sus vidas corren grave peligro. Con la huelga envían un
claro mensaje, no están dispuestos a cumplir prisión por una acción a la
que se vieron compelidos por el criminal actuar del régimen de los
Castro y por la indiferente postura ante el sufrimiento de las víctimas
de la represión, de instituciones y personalidades que tienen el sagrado
deber de condenar todo abuso, todo atentado contra la dignidad humana, y
ser siempre “buenos samaritanos”.
En carta abierta a Su Santidad el Papa Francisco, con fecha 3 de
Septiembre, ya lo habíamos advertido: “Muchos miembros de nuestra
organización y de otras agrupaciones de la Sociedad Civil Independiente,
desean asistir, con disciplina y respeto, a sus misas, pero la policía
política secreta se lo impedirá como ocurrió durante la visita de su
predecesor Benedicto XVI. En nombre de los que pudieran pasar los
históricos días de su visita en tenebrosos calabozos, le damos también,
desde ahora, la más cálida bienvenida.”
También habíamos escrito a los Obispos cubanos con la intención de
informarles sobre brutales golpizas y hasta torturas contra pacíficos
defensores de los derechos humanos. El mismo día de la llegada del
Sucesor de Pedro a La Habana, se cerraron los cercos entorno a muchos
disidentes y esa misma tarde eran detenidas Berta Soler, Martha Beatriz
Roque y Mirian Leyva. Las tres invitadas por la Iglesia a estar entre
las personas que darían la bienvenida al Papa argentino a su llegada a
la Nunciatura. Todo esto fue convenciendo a Zaqueo, María e Ismael de
que no había otra opción: Tenían que alzar el clamor de un pueblo
esclavo en aquella plaza.
Zaqueo y su esposa María tenían vigilancia permanente desde el día
anterior, solo la justeza de su intención, y quizás sus nombres bíblicos
y el de la Célula de la UNPACU a la que pertenecen (Félix Varela),
pudieron hacer posible que burlaran a tantos agentes de la policía
política secreta y llegaran hasta Francisco aquella mañana dominical. El
noble Zaqueo se elevó para llegar al representante de Cristo de quien
había oído que era un hombre justo preocupado por los perseguidos y
oprimidos de la tierra.
María, como la madre de Jesús, sufre hace mucho tiempo por el Vía
Crucis de su pueblo, de sus hermanas Damas de Blanco y por el suyo
propio. Incontables son las detenciones arbitrarias, las golpizas y
otros tratos crueles e inhumanos de los que ha sido objeto. Ismael, como
el hijo de Abraham, sabe lo que significa vagar por el desierto, ser
expulsado, vivir sin derechos, por eso pensó que debía vencer el miedo
que paraliza (Juan Pablo II nos decía: No tengan miedo), y ese domingo
hacer por su patria lo que nunca había hecho y todos debíamos hacer.
Ismael pensó: Dios me escuchará.
En el preámbulo de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos
podemos leer: “Considerando esencial que los derechos humanos sean
protegidos por un régimen de Derecho, a fin de que el hombre no se vea
compelido al supremo recurso de la rebelión contra la tiranía y la
opresión;”. En Cuba tenemos un régimen que viola flagrante y cínicamente
derechos civiles y políticos, pero también derechos económicos,
sociales y culturales. Los abusos que el régimen castrista comete contra
el pueblo son más que suficientes para que los cubanos nos rebelemos
contra la injusticia. Los demócratas cubanos somos personas de paz
convencidos de que la violencia no es nunca la mejor solución, por eso
perseveramos en nuestra lucha pacífica en medio del odio y de brutal
represión.
Zaqueo, María e Ismael quisieron (y lo consiguieron y por eso todos
los cubanos estamos en deuda con ellos), llamar la atención sobre
nuestra difícil realidad. Compleja realidad que cuando no se busca sana
solución a tiempo, termina fatalmente produciendo situaciones extremas
como la que vemos hoy en Siria. Situaciones que con toda razón el Papa, y
toda persona de bien, condena. Zaqueo, María e Ismael dieron un grito
profético, alertaron a todos, nos dijeron con su acción: Está bien que
nos alegremos con el proceso de normalización de relaciones entre el
gobierno de EEUU y el régimen cubano, pero no se olviden de las víctimas
de las violaciones a los derechos humanos, ni se ilusionen con que solo
dicho proceso va a poner fin al sufrimiento de un pueblo oprimido.
Zaqueo, María e Ismael fueron detenidos delante del Papa Francisco y
ante varias cámaras de televisión. Las imágenes dieron la vuelta al
planeta. Hoy cumplen 11 días en huelga de hambre y 6 sin consumir agua.
Varias decenas de activistas pacíficos vienen resultando víctimas de
acciones represivas por reclamar su liberación. Tememos por sus vidas.
Por eso este SOS, dirigido a toda persona de bien.
Muchas Gracias.
José Daniel Ferrer García.
Coordinador General de la Unión Patriótica de Cuba. (UNPACU).
La Habana, 1 de octubre de 2015.
Ladies in White marching today in Havana, Cuba (Photo by Angel Moya)
The #WeAllMarch (#TodosMarchamos) campaign today marked the 25th Sunday of repression in Cuba against nonviolent dissidents with an escalation in the numbers detained and violence by regime agents. The bloodied face of Yriade Hernandez Aguilera was spread across social media today and his testimony made available by the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).
Opposition mobilized today to draw attention to a continuing injustice that arose with the visit of Pope Francis to Cuba. Zaqueo Báez, María Josefa Acón and Ismael Bonet are the three dissidents who were arrested for approaching Pope Francis before his first Mass in Cuba and remain imprisoned three weeks later. The three are members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and are on hunger strike. Yesterday, UNPACU's leader Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia announced that there movement would be protesting to demand the release of the three jailed activists and regime repression. Today that promise was carried out.
In addition UNPACU participated in various
activities across the island. For example, in Havana, they joined
with the Ladies In White (Damas De Blanco) as they gathered in Gandhi Park
after Mass and began their peaceful march only to be attacked and detained by agents of the Castro regime. The march today was dedicated to the martyred founder of the Ladies in White, Laura Inés Pollán Toledo.
Today agents of the Castro regime engaged in a nationwide crackdown in which initial estimates were that over 200 activists were arrested, many of them violently. They also assaulted UNPACU Headquarters in Buenaventura, Holguín and in Santiago. Many activists were detained & beaten. Their cell phones remain out of service.
Earlier tonight Lady in White Sayli Navarro reported over twitter that Ladies in White in Matanzas province had been released but that among them, Leticia Ramos Herreria was one of the most badly beaten by five female thugs of Castro's regime.
At 10:55pm tonight Cuban dissident Antonio Rodiles expressed concern for the Ladies in White whose whereabouts at that later hour remained unknown. At 12:06am Yriade Hernandez Aguilera the Eastern coordinator of UNPACU reported that "more than 300 human rights defenders, of different organizations had been detained."
Document - Further information: Cuba: Sentencing of three brothers postponed
Alexeis Vargas Martín
Further information on UA: 201/13 Index: AMR 25/003/2014 Cuba Date: 15 July 2014
URGENT ACTION
sentencing of three brothers postponed
The sentencing of three prisoners of conscience originally scheduled
for 1 July has been postponed with no further information. They are
prisoners of conscience and should be released immediately and
unconditionally.
Twenty-two-year-old Alexeis Vargas Martín and his two 18-year-old twin brothers, Vianco Vargas Martín and Django Vargas Martín,
were tried on 13 June at the Provincial Court in Santiago de Cuba,
south-eastern Cuba, under the charges of public disorder of a continuous
nature (alteración del orden público de carácter continuado).
The sentencing was scheduled for 1 July but was
postponed with no indication of a new date. The mother of the three
brothers visited the Court on 1 July in order to collect the sentencing
documents but they were not finalised. According to local activists the
authorities may try to convince the three brothers to give up their
activism and this could be the reason behind the postponement.
Amnesty International believes that their
arrest and detention is in response to their peaceful exercise of their
right to freedom of expression and that it is intended to send a message
of intimidation to other government critics, particularly other members
of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU). The
three brothers are prisoners of conscience and must be immediately and
unconditionally released.
Please write immediately in Spanish, English or your own language:
Calling on the authorities to release Alexeis Vargas Martín, Vianco
Vargas Martín and Django Vargas Martín immediately and unconditionally,
as they are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for peacefully
exercising their right to freedom of expression;
Urging them to allow the free exercise of the right to freedom of
expression, association and assembly, without fear of reprisal.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 26 AUGUST 2014 TO:
Head of State and Government
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana, Cuba
Fax: +41 22 758 9431 (Cuba office in Geneva); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)
Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Attorney General
Dr. Darío Delgado Cura
Fiscal General de la República, Fiscalía General de la República Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella, Centro Habana
La Habana, Cuba
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
And copies to:
UNPACU
Calle 9 no. 10, entre E y G
Altamira, Santiago de Cuba
Cuba C.P. 90200
Email: leonardoramirez1973@gmail.com
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
According to information
received by Amnesty International, the Public Prosecutor has asked for
Alexeis Vargas Martín to be sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and
three years for Vianco and Django Vargas Martín, who were 16 at the time
of arrest. They were reportedly subjected to a summary trial, with none
of the witnesses for the defence being allowed to testify. In political
trials such as these it is typical for the judge to pass the sentences
requested by the public prosecutor.
The brothers, from the city of
Santiago de Cuba, are all members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión
Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU), a civil society organization which
advocates for greater civil liberties in the country. Since their
detention, Alexeis Vargas Martín is being held at Aguadores Prison in
Santiago de Cuba province, while Vianco and Django Vargas Martín are
held at the Mar Verde prison in the same province.
In the afternoon of 27 November 2012, Alexeis was returning to his house where a government-sanctioned demonstration (acto de repudio)
was underway at the time. The house was surrounded by government
supporters as his mother, Miraida Martín Calderín, a member of the
Ladies in White protest group, was meeting with other members of the
same organization. Alexeis was refused entry to his own home and was
arrested by police and officials from the Department of State Security.
On 2 December, Vianco and Django Vargas Martín – then only 16 years old –
were also arrested when they went with friends to protest outside the
Micro 9 police station in the city of Santiago de Cuba against the
detention of their brother. In early July 2013, officials from the
Department of State Security told the brothers’ family that they could
be released on bail. The three brothers, however, have refused this as
they reject the charges made by the police and insist on their
innocence.
Miraida Martín Calderín was
also arrested on 2 December 2012 as she protested outside the Tercera
Unidad police station in the city of Santiago de Cuba and charged by
police with public disorder (desorden público). She was held at
the Mar Verde prison for women and released pending trial on 20 February
2013. Miraida Martín Calderín appeared in court alongside her sons on
13 June facing charges of public disorder and defaming institutions,
heroes and martyrs (difamación de las instituciones, héroes y mártires). She may face a sentence of over two years to home arrests.
The right to a fair trial in
Cuba is affected, especially in trials with political connotations, as
courts and prosecutors are under government control. Cuba’s National
Assembly elects the President, Vice-President and the other judges of
the Peoples’ Supreme Court, as well as the Attorney General and the
Deputy Attorney General. In addition, all courts are subordinate to the
National Assembly and the Council of State, raising concerns over
internationally recognised standards for fair trial and the right to
trial by an independent and impartial tribunal.
Acts of repudiation (actos de
repudio) are government-coordinated demonstrations, usually carried out
in front of the homes of government critics, attended by government
supporters, state officials and law enforcement agencies, aimed at
harassing and intimidating opponents of the government, and are often
used to prevent them from travelling to take part in activities. During
an act of repudiation, political opponents and human rights activists
are subjected to verbal and physical abuse by groups of people chanting
pro-government slogans. Police are usually present but do not intervene
to stop the assaults. Such incidents frequently involve the Rapid
Response Brigades (Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida), a structure set up in
1991 and composed of Communist Party volunteers whose task is to deal
with any sign of "counter-revolution". Local human rights activists and
others believe these incidents are orchestrated by Cuba's security
services to intimidate any opposition. Miraida Martin Calderin has told
Amnesty International that members of the Rapid Response Brigade threw
stones at her house during the act of repudiation on 27 November 2012.
The Cuban authorities must immediately and unconditionally release
five men who have been named prisoners of conscience by Amnesty
International.
The cases of the five men – Rafael Matos Montes de
Oca, Emilio Planas Robert and the brothers Alexeis, Diango, and Vianco
Vargas Martín – are indicative of the continuing repression of freedom
of expression on the island, the organization said.
“These five
cases are only the tip of the iceberg for Cuba’s repression of free
speech,” said Javier Zúñiga, Special Advisor for Amnesty International.
“The
only progress made by the Cuban government has been the reform of the
Migration Law earlier this year. It allowed many people including human
rights defenders and government critics to travel abroad. Much more
needs to be done to guarantee civil and political liberties in the
country.”
Emilio Planas Robert and Rafael Matos Montes de Oca Both
have both been found guilty of peligrosidad (dangerousness, or “special
proclivity to commit crimes”) and sentenced to medidas de seguridad
predelictivas (“security measures”), even though no evidence was
presented against them in court.
“The use of this particular
legislation, which allows the government to jail its citizens on the
slightest evidence because it believes they may commit a crime in the
future, is a flagrant violation of international standards and must be
immediately repealed,” said Javier Zúñiga.
“This Orwellian law is being used as a pretext to jail government critics,” he added.
Amnesty
International believes the conviction is politically motivated, as both
men are members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de
Cuba, UNPACU), a civil society organization which advocates for greater
civil liberties on the island.
Alexeis Vargas Martín and his
17-year-old twin brothers, Diango and Vianco Vargas Martín – all members
of UNPACU – have been accused by the police of using violence or
intimidation against a state official (atentado). They have not been
formally charged and their lawyer has not been granted access to their
case-files. They are being held at different prisons in Santiago de Cuba
province.
“Repression of independent journalists, opposition
leaders and human rights activists increased last year in Cuba, and show
no sign of abating,” Javier Zúñiga added.
“In recent months, we
have received scores of reports of people who were arbitrarily arrested
and even imprisoned on ludicrous charges that violate international
standards.”
By the end of June this year, 2,143 people are reported to have been subject to short-term arrests in Cuba.
There
were reports of an average of 400 short-term arrests each month during
2012 and activists travelling from the provinces to Havana were
frequently detained. The independent Cuban Commission for Human Rights
and National Reconciliation reported 6,602 detentions of government
critics last year, compared to 4,123 in 2011 and 2,074 in 2010.
Background
Cuban
investigative journalist Calixto Martínez was freed on 9 April 2013
after Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience in
January. He was held for almost seven months in prison but was never
formally charged with any crime.
Emilio Planas Robert and Rafael
Matos Montes de Oca were arrested in the eastern city of Guantánamo on
23 and 27 September last year respectively, after posters with
anti-government slogans appeared around the city.
Alexeis Vargas
Martín was arrested on 27 November 2012 in the city of Santiago de Cuba,
as he tried to return to his home. His mother who is a member of the
opposition organization Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) was throwing a
birthday celebration. Pro-government protestors were demonstrating
outside the house and had blocked the road.
His brothers, Diango
and Vianco Vargas Martín, were arrested on 2 December, as they protested
their brother’s detention in front of a police station.
UA: 205/13 Index: AMR 25/006/2013 Cuba Date: 2 August 2013
URGENT ACTION
GOVERNMENT CRITICS JAILED FOR SPEAKING OUT
Two government critics are serving prison sentences in Cuba on
politically motivated charges, following summary trials. Amnesty
International considers them prisoners of conscience, detained solely
for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Emilio Planas Robert and Rafael Matos Montes de Oca were
arrested in the city of Guantánamo in Guantánamo Province on 23 and 27
September 2012 respectively by Cuban police and officials from the
Department of State Security. The men, who are both members of the
Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU) were charged
with “dangerousness” (peligrosidad), a pre-emptive measure
defined as the “special proclivity of a person to commit crimes”.
Behaviour such as drunkenness, drug-addiction and “antisocial behaviour”
is criminalized under this legislation.
However, it is also used as a
pretext to imprison political dissidents, independent journalists and
government critics. Emilio Planas Robert was sentenced to
three-and-a-half years' imprisonment and Rafael Matos Montes de Oca to
two-and-a-half years following summary trials on 5 and 15 October 2012
respectively.
The authorities had accused them of putting up
posters in Guantánamo city with “anti-government” slogans such as “down
with Fidel” (abajo Fidel) and “down with hunger” (abajo la hambre). According to their families, no incriminating material was found at their houses and none was presented at their trials.
Amnesty International believes these sentences
are politically motivated, relating to the two men's peaceful exercise
of their right to freedom of expression, and that it is intended to send a message of intimidation to other government critics, particularly other members of UNPACU. Therefore the organization considers them prisoners of conscience.
Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:
Calling on the authorities to release Rafael Matos Montes de Oca and
Emilio Planas Robert immediately and unconditionally, as they are
prisoners of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising their
right to freedom of expression calling on them to eliminate from the Criminal Code provisions
regarding “dangerousness" and repeal all legislation which unduly limits
freedom of expression and association.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 13 SEPTEMBER 2013 TO:
Head of State and Government
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente de la República de Cuba
La Habana, Cuba
Fax: +41 22 758 9431 (Cuba office in Geneva); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)
Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Attorney General
Dr. Darío Delgado Cura
Fiscal General de la República, Fiscalía General de la República, Amistad 552, e/Monte y Estrella, Centro Habana,
La Habana, Cuba
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
And copies to:
Interior Minister
General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra
Ministro del Interior y Prisiones
Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la Revolución, La Habana, Cuba
Fax: +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)
Email: correominint@mn.mn.co.cu
Salutation: Your Excellency
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
GOVERNMENT CRITICS JAILED FOR SPEAKING OUT
Additional Information
Article 72 of the Cuban
Criminal Code, "The Dangerous State", reads: "The dangerous state is
considered to be the special proclivity of a person to commit crimes as
demonstrated by behaviour that manifestly contradicts the norms of
socialist morals." (Se considera estado peligroso la especial
proclividad en que se halla una persona para cometer delitos, demostrada
por la conducta que observa en contradicción manifiesta con las normas
de la moral socialista).
Both Rafael Matos Montes de
Oca and Emilio Planas Robert were sentenced to security measures for
those deemed to be likely to commit a crime in the future (medidas de seguridad predelictivas).
Articles 78 to 84 of the Criminal Code describe the types of measure
that can be taken, which include re-educative measures lasting from
between one and four years. The person is to be interned in a
"specialized work or study establishment" (un establecimiento especializado de trabajo o de estudio) or sent to "a work collective" (colectivo de trabajo). There is no mention of imprisonment.
Article 75 of the Criminal Code states that an "Official Warning" (Advertencia Oficial)
will be given by the relevant police authority, to prevent those
concerned from carrying out socially dangerous or criminal activities (será
objeto de advertencia por la autoridad policíaca competente, en
prevención de que incurre en actividades socialmente peligrosas o
delictivas). The warning is to be issued as a legal document (acta)
expressly stating the reasons for it, as well as what the person
concerned has to say about it, and must be signed by both parties.
According to their families, neither Rafael Matos Montes de Oca nor
Emilio Planas Robert reportedly ever received any warning from the
authorities, written or oral.
Rafael Matos Montes de Oca’s
wife was only told of his trial when it was already underway, and was
only able to attend the closing stages – she had been in the process of
hiring a lawyer at the time. Emilio Planas Robert’s family were not
informed of his trial and he was also not represented by a lawyer. Both
trials reportedly lasted less than two hours.
The accusations made by the
Public Prosecutor during Rafael Matos Montes de Oca’s trial were
reportedly that he did not work, did not have good relations with his
neighbours, drank alcohol, wandered the streets at night and associated
with counter-revolutionary elements. Emilio Planas Robert was apparently
accused of being antisocial and meeting with counter-revolutionary
elements.
Both men are imprisoned in the Guantánamo Provincial Prison (prisión provincial de Guantánamo).
The Patriotic Union of Cuba is a civil society organization which advocates for greater civil liberties on the island.
.
Name: Rafael Matos Montes de Oca and Emilio Planas Robert
Gender m/f: both m
A Call for Solidarity with Hunger Strikers in Cuba.
Activists in Camagüey issue declaration of solidarity with hunger strikers
Declaration of Saratoga
May 6, 2013
People of Cuba, Camagüey, Cuba and compatriots all:
We are a group of nonviolent human rights and opposition pro-democracy activists that have gathered here today at the emblematic Saratoga neighborhood in the city of Camagüey, where after a sustained exchange and fruitful working meeting, we present to the world this historic declaration , in which we set out the following points of view:
Our most firm and unconditional support to our brothers of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) that in the east of the country are struggling between life and death on hunger strike. We hold publicly responsible the regime and its political police of the consequences for their lives and health that may result from their just demand for an arbitrarily imprisoned brother. Receive each and every one of the strikers and the members and officers of the iconic and courageous organization, the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), headed by well-known opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer García our deepest solidarity and affection.
Those present took the opportunity to publicly call world attention to the unfortunate case of Nicolás Felipe González Menéndez and Arcelio López Rojas, in the prisons of Villa Clara and Camagüey respectively that might lose their lives in separate hunger strikes and that for different reasons are carrying out. The cases of Nicolás and Arcelio have the paradoxical, and for us unacceptable silence and indifference both of the media as well as a few activists in and out of Cuba, who for the simple reason are not recognized as political prisoners, they are denied coverage and monitoring.
Know those who are listening to us that we are gathered here today and each one of all the prisoners in Cuba, whether or not they have the status of political prisoners, whatever the causes for which they were imprisoned, have the right of solidarity for and with them. And for who lacks courage to do it, know that today convened here in Saratoga, openly and responsibly we are for all those in Cuba and elsewhere in the world who risk their lives in the just demand of their rights.
Although the commemoration of Mother's Day is still days away, we want to congratulate in advance the Cuban woman as mother, wife and woman. And especially in these moments that they have been at the forefront of the struggle in the Cuban resistance, confronting with courage and patriotism the totalitarian repression. On this occasion we want to congratulate several Cuban Marianas that during these days carry the truth of Cuba to different parts of the world and international forums such as: Berta Soler, Yoani Sánchez, Belkis Cantillo, Laura Labrada Pollán, for all of them on behalf of Cuba, many congratulations.
Those gathered here today and congregated here on this public balcony in Camagüey and in sight of military units are here confirming our sacred commitment to the nonviolent defense of human rights and democratic change especially united in action, as a basic component in any liberation process.
Gathered here in Saratoga, are members of the following organizations: Camagüey Human Rights Unit, National Civic Resistance Movement Pedro Luis Boitel, Women's Movement for Civil Rights Rosa Parks, and members of the Central Opposition Coalition, all affiliated to the Orlando Zapata Tamayo National Civic Resistance Front.
Compatriots, here we are in the residence of the provincial headquarters of the Human Rights Party of Cuba affiliated with the Andrei Sakharov Foundation, a pioneer flagship of our coalition of coalitions, here we are:
Yenni Barayobre Columbié
Daniel Miguel Jiménez
Elicardo Freire Jiménez
Santos Manuel Fernández Sánchez
Alexander Pérez Aguilar
Orlando Romaguer Peña
Orlando Gómez Echevarria
Julio Columbie Batista
Damaris Moya Portieles
Jorge Luis García Pérez Antúnez
Also the presence of Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera on a convalescent bed recovering from ailments of the beating stands out and also the fear that we have that there may be a repressive event and she could be suppressed. Also inhabiting the residence is the activist and mother of opposition activist Santos Fernández Sánchez, Elida Sánchez Jiménez.
Original Spanish text available here and audio in the youtube clip below:
A total of 26 member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), among
them one of its leaders, former political prisoner Jose Daniel Ferrer
Garcia, remain on hunger strike as a civic protest against the growing
number of violent detentions of human rights activists and the increase
of political prisoners. As of now, all the strikers hail from the
Eastern region of the country.
The protest originated on Monday, April 15th, when a group of about
14 activists stood outside the Third Police Unit of Santiago de Cuba,
demanding the release of dissident Luis Enrique Lozada, of UNPACU, who
has been detained and on hunger strike in the mentioned unit since
Tuesday, April 9th. His underage son, Enrique Lozada, as well as other
relatives and brothers-in-struggle decided to carry out their own hunger
strikes in solidarity.
On Tuesday, April 16th, a total of 24 dissidents of the same
pro-freedom organization took the protest to the Cespedes Park of
Santiago de Cuba, in front of the Cathedral of Santiago and the
Communist Party of that area. Here is the video, courtesy of UNPACU, of
the protest. One can also see various violent arrests of peaceful
dissidents who tried to join the demonstration:
During the night of the 16th, monsignor Dionisio Garcia Ibanez, of
Santiago, personally told Jose Daniel Ferrer that he would intercede for
them, so that the political detainees, like Luis Enrique Lozada, be
liberated.
Ferrer and the other hunger strikers returned to their homes, but
they are still on strike. In this video, they explain their reasoning:
This 18th of April the UNPACU strikers are as follows: 11 in Palmarito de Cauto, 6 in San Luis and 9 in Santiago de Cuba, with a total of 26.
Meanwhile, on Twitter the young activist Anyer Antonio Blanco Rodriguez created the hashtag #huelgadehambreUNPACU (“hungerstrikeUNPACU”)
to demonstrate solidarity with those carrying out the protest and the
political prisoners. Blanco Rodriguez also published various messages
informing that in diverse regions of the island there have been signs
appearing with messages in favor of the strikers, while many public
protests have been carried out, also in solidarity with the 26
dissidents which have put their own lives at risk for the freedom of
others.
Three Kings Day also known as the Epiphany was observed in 2013 by the regime in Cuba with detentions of children, the homes of activists stoned, and death threats.
At the same time opposition activists attended Mass and gave gifts to children to celebrate a holiday that has a long history in Cuba, although suppressed for decades by the Castro dictatorship. The Ladies in White together with the Cuban Patriotic Union organized an event with 250 children to celebrate the day of the Kings in Palmarito de Cauto.
Agents of the regime took part in acts of repression to sabotage efforts to celebrate The Epiphany on the Eve of Three Kings Day and on the holiday itself the Cuban government engaged in a campaign of intimidation and harassment. Rosa Maria Payá reported over twitter on January 5th at 4:27pm: "We just found out they have thrown a stone against the door of our house, I wonder what will be next."
At 10:23am on January 6, 2012 Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia reported over twitter that in "Santiago de Cuba: 3 kilometers from the city of Palma Soriano, the political police stopped a private passenger lorry with over 80 people. Detained in the truck were 60 children and adults traveling to Palmarito de Cauto to participate in an activity for Three Kings Day.
Three Kings Day disappeared as a holiday in the early 1960s only to resurface in 1998, along with Christmas, with Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba.
Nevertheless, religious repression in Cuba continues to be a serious problem. Christian Solidarity Worldwide has reported a dramatic increase in harassment and persecution of people of faith in Cuba in 2012 stating:
CSW documented 120 reported cases of religious freedom in 2012, up from a total of 30 in 2011, some of which involved entire churches and denominations and hundreds of people. The number does not include the men and women who were arrested and imprisoned for the duration of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit in March which local human rights groups estimate to be upwards of 200.
The Castro regime is channeling the spirit of King Herod in trying to repress the free exercise of religion in Cuba and harassing children.
.jpg)
Posts
