Tip of the iceberg: Two Cuban diplomats expelled for conducting "influence operations"

"We feel great pride that the first, very modest draft officially submitted to serve as the basis for the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man was written by Dr. Ernesto Díhigo, an eminent professor at the University of Havana and a member of the Cuban delegation." - Guy Pérez-Cisneros

Cuban diplomats have engaged in assaults, acts of repudiation and terrorism

Today the United States announced it is expelling two Cuban diplomats and is restricting travel of members of Cuba's permanent mission to the United Nations.  Reasons cited for the expulsions and travel restrictions were that they were trying to "conduct influence operations against the United States." 

After 2 members of Cuba’s UN mission engaged in activities harmful to U.S. national security, we asked them to leave the U.S. Members of Cuba’s UN mission are also restricted to stay in Manhattan. We take any & all attempts against the National Security of the U.S. seriously.

— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) September 19, 2019

The Castro regime and their apologists will attempt to come to the defense of these diplomats that have a long track record of not being diplomatic, and on occasion behaving more like secret police, a violent mob or a mafia operation.

Cuban diplomats for more than 50 years have plotted and facilitated terrorist attacks, beaten up peaceful protesters, threatened and bitten protesters using homophobic language, and participated in the cover up of extrajudicial killings.

Consider the following partial chronology of malfeasance:

New York City (2018)
On October 16, 2018 Cuban diplomats led an "act of repudiation" at the United Nations to prevent a discussion on the plight of political prisoners in Cuba at a side event organized by the United States.

Cuban "diplomats" try to shout down side event on political prisoners

Panama (2015)
On April 8, 2015 Cuban diplomats streamed out of the the Cuban Embassy in Panama attacking civil society representatives who at the time were laying flowers at a bust of Jose Marti in a public park nearby. Several activists were injured and at least one required surgery. During the Summit of the Americas Cuban diplomats disrupted official meetings in order to block Cuban and Venezuelan dissidents from taking part, despite being officially accredited. 

Cuban diplomats assaulted nonviolent protesters in Panama

Dominican Republic (2012)
On January 28, 2012 in the Dominican Republic the Cuban ambassador physically assaulted a 70 year old Cuban exile who had screamed "Down with Fidel! Down with the Castros!" This same diplomat had been already expelled by the United States in 1995 for beating up peaceful demonstrators in New York City. 

Mexico (2012)
In January of 2012 there were reports in the media of Cuban, Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats meeting in Mexico to discuss cyber attacks on U.S. soil and allegedly seeking information about nuclear power plants in the United States. 

Cuban diplomat bit a young Norwegian woman of Cuban-Norwegian descent in 2010.

Oslo, Norway (2010)
On May 22, 2010 Norwegian media reported that Cuban diplomat, Carmen Julia Guerra, insulted, threatened, and bit a young Norwegian woman, Alexandra Joner age 19, of Cuban descent on her mother's side while she was across the street from the Cuban embassy in Oslo. She was filming a non-violent demonstration in solidarity with the Ladies in White and in remembrance of martyred Cuban dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo. The main national newspaper in Norway, Aftenposten,  photographed the young girl with bite marks on her hand.

San Jose, Costa Rica (2004)
Cuban counsel Rafael Dausá Céspedes utilized groups with ideological affinities with the Cuban revolution in Costa Rica to physically storm a pro-democracy event using physical intimidation and threats of violence to shut it down after it had started in what was an attempted act of repudiation. This led to a two and a half hour stand off. Meanwhile in another part of the same building the event went off without a hitch.  

Geneva, Switzerland (2004)
On April 15, 2004 when the United Nations Human Rights Commission  decided by a single vote to censure the communist regime for its human rights record a Cuban human rights defender Frank Calzon was physically attacked by members of the Cuban diplomatic delegation. According to Freedom House: "Witnesses said a Cuban delegate punched Mr. Calzon, knocking him unconscious. UN guards reportedly protected him from further assault by additional members of the Cuban delegation."

Paris, France (2003)
At the Cuban embassy in Paris on April 24, 2003 Cuban diplomats engaged in the brutal beating of nonviolent protesters with iron bars and threatened them with deadly force. "Not only did members of the embassy come out with iron bars to hit us, but one of them was carrying a firearm, which he loaded while outside the embassy," RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said. "This new element is extremely serious. It is unacceptable that persons linked to a foreign embassy should commit such offences on French territory."

Washington, DC (2000)
On April 14, 2000 nonviolent protesters gathered in front of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington DC. In the early evening, a band of about 10 Cuban diplomats, alleged to have been drinking took off their coats, ties and jewelry, began screaming obscenities and yelling threats, and indiscriminately attacked 20 peaceful protesters  with fists and sticks, even injuring a Secret Service officer. Among the Cuban diplomats engaged in the violent assault, according to one of the victims, was Gustavo Machin Gomez.

Senior Cuban diplomat engaged in violent physical assault of US citizens in 2000

Mexico City, Mexico (1996)
On March 8, 1996 a group of Mexican students belonging to various universities,  a federal representative of the PAN Cristián Castaño Contreras, and a Cuban journalist were brutally assaulted by officers and employees of the Cuban embassy during a peaceful demonstration outside of the embassy. The attack left many injured. The Cuban embassy staff even attacked a student displaying a Mexican flag and tried to destroy it. The behavior was reminiscent of a Rapid Response Brigade in Cuba used to beat down dissidents in the island.

New York City, USA (1994)
 The United States expelled two Cuban diplomats on April 12, 1995, for having assaulted people last August (1994) protesting in front of Cuba's mission to the United Nations. The diplomats, Edmundo Suarez Hernandez, a counselor, and Saul Hermida Griego, an attache, and their families were told are to leave by midnight Sunday.  On August 30, 1994 protesters chained themselves to the Cuban Mission door. Cuban diplomats attacked them with sticks, screaming, "Cuba Our Way!" Two diplomats wielded a crowbar and ax handle. More than a dozen police officers suffered injuries. Four Cuban Mission employees were arrested on assault charges. All four were released after claiming diplomatic immunity.  US officials said it's unusual for diplomats to be expelled for violent behavior.

Cuban diplomats implicated in 1969 bombing plot in New York City

New York City, USA (1969)
A Black Panther plot to bomb five Manhattan department stores on April 3, 1969 during the Easter shopping rush was broken up by the indictment of 21 members of the militant group on April 2nd. The Chicago Tribune reported that they had planned to "set off bombs in the midtown stores of Macy's Alexander's. Bloomingdale's, Korvette's and Abercombie & Fitch. The bombings were to be accompanied by gunfire in the crowded stores." They had also planned to dynamite the tracks of Penn Central railroad at six location and bomb a police station in the Morrisania section of the Bronx to divert police from the railroad bombings. On April 10, 1969 Andrew Tulley reported in the Reading Eagle that that the Communist Cuban mission to the United Nations has become a financial and propaganda headquarters for promoting revolution by black militants and white radicals. ... Specifically, it was said, these include the Black Panther Party. The United States denied re-entry visas to two Cuban U.N. diplomats ..."as a normal reaction to evidence that the Cuban mission is engaged in extensive subversive activities.

Cuban diplomats planned terror attack in New York City in 1962

New York City, USA (1962)
Cuban diplomats Elsa Montera Maldonado and Jose Gomez Abad, a husband and wife team at the Cuba Mission in New York City, who in reality were State Security agents who plotted to murder large numbers of Americans. Both were expelled for their role in a planned terrorist attack on the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1962 which sought to detonate 500 kilos of explosives inside Macy’s, Gimbel’s, Bloomingdale’s and Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.

Cuban diplomats Guy Pérez-Cisneros, Ernesto Dihigo played crucial role for UDHR

It was not always this way. Seventy years ago, a democratic Cuba helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and establish the UN Human Rights Commission.

Cuba’s last democratic president, Carlos Prio Socarras, was elected in free and fair elections and assumed office on Oct. 10, 1948. President Prio respected human rights, and this was reflected by the actions taken by his diplomats at the founding of the UN.

Cuba, Panama, and Chile were the first three countries to submit full drafts of human rights charters to the Commission. Latin American delegations, especially Mexico, Cuba, and Chile inserted language about the right to justice into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in what would become Article 8.

Cuban delegate Guy Pérez-Cisneros addressed the UN General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948 proposing to vote for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Cuban Ambassador celebrated that it condemned racism and sexism, and also addressed the importance of the rule of law:

“My delegation had the honor of inspiring the final text, which finds it essential that the rights of man be protected by the rule of law, so that man will not be compelled to exercise the extreme recourse of rebellion against tyranny and oppression.”

This democratic Cuba was overthrown on March 10, 1952 by Fulgencio Batista and hopes of a democratic restoration frustrated by the Castro brothers in 1959.

Guy Pérez-Cisneros died of a stroke in 1953.

Ernesto Dihigo, like Pérez-Cisneros, left the diplomatic corps following the 1952 coup, but returned as Cuba’s Ambassador to the United States in January of 1959 retiring in 1960. He left Cuba in 1989 and died in Miami in 1991.

Democrats should share this history with Cubans on the island to demonstrate that civil and political rights are an intrinsic part of a shared Cuban heritage that in 1948 made world history and that the regime in the island today would like erased.

VIII Summit of the Americas in Lima Peru: Castro regime's shock troops try to silence other voices

 Deja vu at the Summit of the Americas

Castro and Maduro shock troops disrupt events at the Summit of the Americas

Today, shock troops of the Castro and Maduro regimes disrupted civil society gatherings running parallel to the Summit of the Americas in an effort to shut down civil discourse and silence dissenting voices from Cuba and Venezuela. This behavior needs to be placed in context.




On April 11, 2018 learned that U.S. citizens of Cuban origin were held for hours at immigration in Peru because the Cuban government had provided a list to the Peruvian government to not allow them to enter. Two days earlier the Castro regime sent a delegation, or a more accurate description would be shock troops,  to the Summit of the Americas in Lima. They walked down the stairs of the plane and began to chant in unison "I am Fidel."


Researcher and translator Michael Lima Cuadra identified one of the Castro regime's shock troops attending the Summit of the Americas. His name is Ronaldo Hidalgo Rivera. He was one of the men who knocked down Daniel Llorente Miranda (age 52) a Cuban dissident on May 1, 2017 as he ran with a flag of the United States outstretched in his arms over his head.

A banner critical of the human rights situation in Cuba and calling for an end to human rights violations was defaced and replaced with graffiti that read #ConCubaNoTeMetas which translates loosely to "Don't mess with Cuba", a slogan repeated by the Castro regime's shock troops.

The pattern of harassment, acts of repudiation and an atmosphere of hostility is reminiscent of what happened at the first Summit of the Americas attended by the Cuban government in April of 2015 when a number of human rights defenders were violently assaulted, and some were hospitalized by agents of the Castro regime.

The Center for a Free Cuba has written a letter to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States and the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and made a formal request for the security of those attending the Summit.

We are calling on you and all democratic governments in the region to do everything possible to protect those now in Lima who wish to exercise their freedom of speech against the Castro dictatorship and in favor of the removal of Cuban security forces from Venezuela where they help the Maduro government to abuse and repress the Venezuelan people.

Three years ago in Panama, at the last Summit of the Americas, shock troops of the Castro regime disrupted civil society events, attacked peaceful demonstrators in a public park, and attempted to stop human rights defenders from being granted entry to the country to attend the regional gathering.

FCF founder Augusto Monge physically assaulted today in Panama by pro-Castro mob #PanamaSummit #SummitoftheAmericas pic.twitter.com/uUWnXCoIgu

— Free Cuba Foundation (@freecubafndtn) April 8, 2015

The 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama marked the first time that Cuba had been invited to attend. Latin American leaders threatened that the VII Summit would not take place if the Castro regime was not invited. On September 22, 2014 Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at a Americas Society/Council of the Americas meeting in New York City said, "if Cuba doesn’t go, then probably no Summit.”

Cuba has attended two Summits, disrupted them, engaged in violent acts that make a mockery of the democratic pretensions of the gathering. Peruvian authorities need to be vigilant and step up their game to ensure that these shock troops do not injure those attending the Summit of the Americas.

Amnesty International denounces attacks and illegal raids on homes at night in Venezuela

Cuban-style acts of repudiation arrive in Venezuela. Another step on the road to totalitarianism.
 

Venezuela: Repression taken into people's living rooms as home raids surge.

By Amnesty International

The Venezuelan authorities have expanded their arsenal of repressive tactics by launching a vicious campaign of illegal home raids on citizens suspected of dissent, Amnesty International said in a new investigation published today.

Nights of terror: Attacks and illegal raids on homes in Venezuela reveals how Venezuelan security forces and government-sponsored civilian armed groups have violently broken into people’s homes in recent months as a way of intimidating them against taking part in demonstrations or any other form of protest.

“In Venezuela, no place is safe from the twisted power of the security forces. Not even people´s homes. The Venezuelan authorities have found a new and disturbing way of stamping out dissent as part of a seemingly endless quest to instill fear into the population. They have taken street repression into people’s living rooms. People have the right to feel safe in their own homes,” said Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland.

#Venezuela's authorities are involved in an illegal campaign of intimidation against their own people. Read more: https://t.co/4BuGAouzLv pic.twitter.com/adM7En9jsp

— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) October 30, 2017

Local human rights organisations have collected reports of at least 47 illegal home raids in 11 districts across the country between April and July 2017 – when demonstrations were at their height. More than 120 people were killed, nearly 2,000 were injured and more than 5,000 were arrested during this period. Amnesty International experts visited and interviewed victims of home raids in four Venezuelan states: Caracas, Miranda, Carabobo and Lara. Those targeted said security forces and armed men, believed to be members of government-sponsored illegal armed groups, would violently force their way into their homes without judicial orders or any explanation of why there were there.

These raids would often involve threats, and verbal and physical violence, including the use of anti-riot gear and the firing of gas canisters inside apartments. A woman who was living in an apartment block in Miranda state, north Venezuela, told Amnesty International that during a home raid on 22 May 2017 she could hear men screaming: “Open up, open up … the boogeyman is here.” Victims also reported that security forces broke down doors, smashed windows and, in some cases, stole objects from their homes. In one apartment block in Miranda, CCTV cameras caught members of the security forces leaving with heavy bags, presumably with stolen objects.

Raids would last for hours and, in some cases, the whole night. Once inside the apartments, security forces would ask for the location of the “young men who were protesting”. Many young man were rounded up and massive arbitrary detentions took place. A man from the state of Lara, northern Venezuela, said that security forces would enter shouting “come down now fucking bandits … we are going to rape you all.”

Several victims told Amnesty International they are frightened another raid could take place at their home at any moment and have trouble sleeping at night. Due to the chronic shortage of goods in Venezuela, some have not been able to repair the damage caused by the raid and now live in highly insecure homes without doors.

“These home raids are absolutely illegal under international law and Venezuela’s own constitution. It is time for the Maduro administration and its security forces to stop employing violence and repression against its people. These types of violations cannot continue in the future and there must be justice for the victims to ensure this policy of violence comes to an end. By continuing this repression, instead of investigating and punishing those responsible for these acts, the authorities are sending a frightening message: anyone could be repressed at any moment and in any place, no matter their political beliefs,” said Colm O’Gorman.

Cuba: Mother beaten into unconciousness and taken away

Damaris and her young daughter targeted by Castro agents

 In the late morning of October 4, 2013 news arrived over twitter that Damaris Moya Portieles's home was once again under siege, the ninth act of repudiation and fourth invasion of her home in a month, where children and elderly also reside.  The young Cuban mother is also a leader in the Central Opposition Coalition and a regime objective.

It was learned from her mom, Bárbara Moya Portieles, that she had been beaten into a state of unconsciousness and taken away by the political police. Damaris's mom made a statement in which she said, ""Damaris, my daughter, was taken passed out on account of the amount of punches she received. I accuse the Castro government of what might happen to my daughter."

When others nonviolently protested the beating and detention of Damaris they too were taken away.

Witnessing the horrors committed against Damaris Moya Portieles leads many to ask how can they be so bad? How can agents of the Cuban government repeatedly and brutally beat up, and sexually assault a mother while threatening to rape her and her six year old daughter?

The answer is simple. The Castro regime is a communist dictatorship. The implications of this are outlined in The Terror Museum located in Budapest, Hungary. World War II, a conflict that claimed more than 40 million lives around the world was initiated in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between Nazi Germany and Communist Russia which contained secret protocols for invading and dividing up Poland.

Communism is an ideology born of class hatred and envy that embraces class struggle i.e, a permanent war between different economic classes of people as legitimate. This world view has led to several acts of genocide around the world committed by communist regimes.

The communist ideological baggage of the Castro regime informs on how bad this dictatorship can become. A communist critique of the communist dictatorship in Cuba by a spokesman of Peru's Shining Path guerrillas was that Castro had failed because he had not killed the 1/3rd of the entire population necessary to achieve a true revolution. The Shining Path spokesman was apparently inspired by the communist Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

There should be no surprises or illusions about the need to resist the communist regime or the lengths of the dictatorship to hang on to power. At the same time one must never underestimate the power of the powerless in confronting what is an evil system using truth and nonviolent means.

Damaris is doing her part, are you doing yours?

The Regime Strikes Back: International Human Rights Day in Cuba

Despite massive orchestrated regime repression combined with a propaganda offensive the opposition was able to celebrate international human rights day in Cuba with courageous defiance.

 

On International Human Rights Day the Castro regime engaged in a triple attack. First it shut down cell phones and home telephones of activists and independent journalists so that it was difficult if not impossible for them to communicate. (This tactic was first documented and used successfully on a national scale by the dictatorship during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba in March of 2012.) By 12 noon today activists such as Orlando Luis Pardo were tweeting that "cell phones of the majority of activists and Cuban civil society leaders including the Ladies in White were blocked."

Secondly the dictatorship organized rapid response brigades led by state security to lay siege to the homes of activists and when the activists took to the streets in nonviolent protest these government agents violently ended the demonstrations and detained the activists. At 9:24am today Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez tweeted that "independent journalist Carlos Rio Otero was impeded from leaving his home by police patrol."This repression started in the early morning and has continued throughout the day and into the night. Tonight at 9:53pm former prisoner of conscience Angel Moya tweeted that "the home of activist Eduardo Pacheco was under siege in Cardenas Matanzas" and that "repressive forces were wielding knives and shouting no one will go out."As was done yesterday, a large number of activists were arbitrarily detained to prevent them from participating in activities on International Human Rights Day. Bertha Soler, the spokesperson of the Ladies in White was beaten up and arrested yesterday then released only to suffer the same indignity again today.

Thirdly, over the internet the Cuban government and its sympathizers recycled propaganda on the non-achievements of the revolution and attacked the U.S. Embargo while claiming that news of human rights violations in Cuba were lies manufactured by counter-revolutionary elements and the Yankees. A number of the claims made about U.S. sanctions were factually inaccurate.
 
In reality, the human rights situation in Cuba over the past four years has gone from bad to worse. At the same time that sanctions have been loosened. The only bright spot was the product of a sustained international and national campaign for the release of Cuban prisoners of conscience arrested during the 2003 Black Cuban Spring which succeeded in getting all of them out of prison by March of 2011. Nevertheless there are new prisoners of conscience who have replaced them and the international community does not seem to have the same level awareness and commitment that it did back in 2003 generating greater impunity.

Unfortunately, one of the byproducts of this lessened solidarity and increased impunity it is feared may be the suspicious deaths of high profile activists such as Laura Pollan and Oswaldo Paya not to mention human rights defenders such as Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Wilman Villar Mendoza, Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia, Sergio Díaz Larrastegui and now the life of  Calixto Ramon Martinez hangs in the balance.  

The Castro regime struck back today with its arsenal of repressive tools and agents of influence abroad, but despite the dictatorship's efforts to silence the opposition it failed. Protests and marches went on, signs were posted and leaflets were distributed across the island and a national pots and pans protest was successfully carried out. International Human Rights Day in Cuba demonstrated that nonviolent and creative resistance can overpower the most sophisticated plans of the regime.



Opposition activist and former prisoner of conscience Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia was able to post an important video tonight (embedded above) outlining the nonviolent nature of the Cuban civic movement's struggle for freedom in Cuba and its objectives.


The Rosa Maria Paya, of the Christian Liberation Movement was able to post an audio on the state of human rights in Cuba that demands justice for her father Oswaldo Paya in addition to freedom for Calixto Ramon Martinez and Josvany Melchor Rodriguez both unjustly imprisoned.

All of this was accomplished despite the increased repression and danger to the lives of these activists.

At the same time people of good will abroad can help reduce the level of impunity in Cuba by pressuring for increased scrutiny on the regime. Please take a few minutes of your time to visit the Free Cuba Foundation and sign three petitions in order to demand justice, freedom and an end to repression.

Amnesty International designed its symbol of a candle surrounded by barbed wire inspired by the proverb: "It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness." It is important to remember the power of shining the light of truth into darkness and its great nonviolent power.

Amnesty International: Sharp rise in harassment and attacks against activists and journalists in Cuba

Document - Cuba: Routine repression: Political short-term detentions and harassment in Cuba

Contents

Background 6

Short-term detention, harassment and intimidation of political opponents 8

Prisoners of conscience 11

The Ladies in White – Damas de blanco 14

Independent journalists 16

Recommendations 18

Background

The Cuban government wages a permanent campaign of harassment and short-term detentions of political opponents to stop them from demanding respect for civil and political rights. Since Amnesty International’s last report on the respect for the freedom of expression in Cuba, published in June 2010, (Restrictions on freedom of expression in Cuba, Index: AMR 25/005/2010) the situation has further deteriorated with a steady increase in the number of arbitrary detentions. Criticism of the government is not tolerated in Cuba and it is routinely punished with arbitrary and short-term detentions, “acts of repudiation” (demonstrations led by government supporters with the alleged participation of state security officials aimed at harassing and intimidating government critics), intimidation, harassment and politically motivated criminal prosecutions.

The authorities continue to deny those wanting political change in Cuba their right to express and share their ideas freely and without reprisal or retaliation. Repression is routine. Peaceful demonstrators, independent journalists and human rights activists are routinely detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement. Activists are often detained as a preventive measure to stop them from attending public demonstrations or private meetings.

In spite of the repression, the restrictions to the exercise of these rights are continuously challenged across Cuba resulting in thousands of detentions. Two organizations monitoring human rights in Cuba reported on a monthly basis hundreds of short-term detentions during 2011.

Most of those detained in these circumstances may be prisoners of conscience even if they are released after a short period of detention, often only after a few hours. Of those currently in detention, the organization has recently adopted four prisoners of conscience who have been detained solely for the peaceful exercise of fundamental freedoms. Amnesty International is once again calling on the Cuban government to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience, whether or not they have been charged or tried.

In 2011, the release of dozens of political prisoners and the last remaining prisoners of conscience from the March 2003 crackdown did not herald a change in human rights policy. The vast majority of those released were forced into exile, while in Cuba the authorities were determined to contain the dissidence and government critics with new tactics. Intimidation, harassment, multiple detentions and restrictions on movement have been widely used against political opponents to stop them from carrying out their activities or as retaliation. Surveillance of government opponents is also commonplace. “Acts of repudiation” – demonstrations led by government supporters with the alleged participation of state security officials aimed at harassing and intimidating government critics – have become commonplace. Members of the movement Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) in particular were targeted in several locations in Cuba where the movement has representatives. Reports of ill-treatment and beatings during the acts of repudiation and detention have become a source of greater concern.

Cuba does not tolerate any criticism of the state outside the official mechanisms established under government control. Laws on “public disorder”, “contempt”, “disrespect”, “dangerousness” and “aggression”, are used to prosecute government opponents. No political or human rights organizations are allowed to obtain legal status. Trade unions and bar associations independent from those affiliated to the Cuban Communist Party are not permitted to operate legally and their members are subject to repressive measures. Any challenge to official policy invariably results in retaliatory action involving the violation of human rights.

To justify their arsenal of repressive laws and practices, Cuban officials continue to claim that political opponents act under the sponsorship or the influence of the United States government, and that their activities are a threat against national security, Cuba’s integrity and the revolution. Draconian legislation which was purportedly aimed at protecting Cuban sovereignty was introduced following the tightening of the United States´ economic embargo in the 1990s. Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the US government to lift its embargo, as it is highly detrimental to Cubans' enjoyment of a range of economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to food, health and sanitation. However, Amnesty International believes the activities carried out by Cuban political opponents constitute legitimate exercise of freedom of expression, assembly and association. In Cuba these freedoms are severely limited in law and in practice. Furthermore, regardless of US foreign policy towards Cuba, the Cuban authorities are solely responsible for the violations of civil and political rights. They must guarantee the protection of these universally recognized rights. The government must also recognize and allow the peaceful and legitimate expressions of dissent in Cuba.

Short-term detention, harassment and intimidation of political opponents

Short-term detentions of political and human rights activists and independent journalists are becoming more and more frequent. This practice further undermines respect for international principles and standards regarding deprivation of liberty and freedom of expression, association and assembly in Cuba.

The number of short-term detentions has risen sharply over the past 24 months. The ‘Hablemos Press’ Information Centre (Centro de Información Hablemos Press, CIHPRESS ), an unofficial news agency monitoring human rights abuses across Cuba has recorded a four fold increase in the number of reported arrests from 2009 to 2010 and a two-fold increase from 2010 to 2011. In 2011, the organization –which, like all groups deemed to be critical of the government, is denied official recognition – received reports of 3,835 detentions, varying monthly from 181 to 576 cases. Similarly, the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation (Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliación Nacional, CCDHRN), received reports of 2,784 incidents of human rights abuses form January to September 2011, mostly short-term and arbitrary detentions. For the year 2010, the CCDHRN documented 2,074 such incidents.

Although the increase in reported cases could be partially attributed to better monitoring capacity and easier exchange of information concerning human rights abuses (due to greater access to mobile telephones), it is nevertheless undeniable that the Cuban authorities have stepped up repression against political opponents. The authorities do not tolerate outspoken criticism of government policies or abuses of civil and political rights. Officers of the National Revolutionary Police (Policía Nacional Revolucionaria, PNR) and of the Department of State Security (Departamento de Seguridad del Estado, DSE) routinely detain activists staging peaceful demonstrations in public spaces under the presumption they are creating ‘public disorder’. The use of excessive force by the authorities and beatings during the detention have been reported with increased frequency.

Detainees are normally held for a few hours or sometimes days in police stations or other detention centres, during which time they are often subjected to interrogations, intimidation, and threats. Beatings during detention have also been reported. Detainees are normally threatened with criminal charges or imprisonment if they do not cease their “counter-revolutionary” activities. Some detainees have been held for weeks without knowing the exact charges against them.

Ivonne Malleza Galano, Ignacio Martínez Montejo, along with Isabel Haydee Álvarez, were detained for 52 days without charge, following their participation in a peaceful anti-government demonstration on 30 November 2011. The authorities held Ivonne Malleza Galano in incommunicado detention for 10 days, without contact with the outside world including her family and lawyers. Only on 10 December was she allowed a phone call to inform family and friends of her whereabouts, and relatives were allowed to visit her on 12 December. Amnesty International adopted them as prisoners of conscience, solely detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. All three were released on 20 January 2012 without charge.

Reports of incommunicado detentions are becoming more frequent. For days at a time, the whereabouts of those detained are unknown to their relatives. The authorities fail to inform them of the reasons and the place of detention even if relatives go to different police stations inquiring about the whereabouts of those detained. Incommunicado detention violates the rights of the people deprived of their liberty and the Cuban authorities must stop holding detainees incommunicado. Individuals being held incommunicado may not be represented by a lawyer of their own choice. In addition, individuals held incommunicado do not have the right to communicate with a family member or other persons of their choice the fact and place of their detention and their families live in anxiety not knowing what has happened to them.

On 21 February 2012, former prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer García was detained in Havana and held incommunicado, unable to inform his relatives or other persons of his choice of his whereabouts. He was transferred to a detention facility in the province of Camagüey the following day, and then on 24 February he was released without charge in his home province of Santiago de Cuba. While detained he was threatened with imprisonment if he continued his dissident activities as coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de Cuba, UNPACU), an umbrella group of dissident organizations based in eastern Cuba.

In January 2012, Iris Tamara Pérez Aguilera was detained on four occasions in Placeta, Villa Clara, during demonstrations calling for the release of prisoners of conscience Ivonne Malleza Galano, Ignacio Martínez Montejo, and Isabel Haydee Álvarez. In February, she was again detained twice during demonstrations calling for the release of Yasmín Conyedo Riverón and her husband Yusmani Rafael Álvarez Esmori both prisoners of conscience detained since 8 January 2012.

On Sunday 19 February 2012, 25 Ladies in White were arrested in the province of Santiago de Cuba to prevent them from attending mass at the shrine of Our Lady of Charity in the town of El Cobre. The security of state and the police have set up tight controls around the shrine where Pope Benedict XVI is expected to celebrate mass at the end of March during a three-day visit to Cuba. The Ladies in White fear that they will not be allowed to attend the event as a reprisal for their constant mobilization and criticism towards the government.

Acts of repudiation

Amnesty International believes that official encouragement is being given to pro-government supporters who harass and intimidate with impunity those who have been advocating political change by peaceful means.

Acts of repudiation (actos de repudio) are government coordinated demonstrations, usually carried out in front of the homes of political opponents, attended by government supporters, state officials and law enforcement agencies aimed at harassing and intimidating opponents and are often used to prevent them from traveling to participate 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 fail to 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.

Acts of repudiation are normally followed by the arrest of those targeted. In January 2012, 40 political opponents were arrested following such events. Journalists reporting on the acts of repudiation and taking pictures have also been arrested. On 17 December, Eynor Díaz Allen, reporter for ‘Hablemos Press’ Information Centre in Guantánamo, was detained for 48 hours and had his camera seized by officials of the Department of Security of State. He was documenting an act of repudiation against Obayemi Grant Guerra, member of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy (Movimiento Cubano de Jóvenes por la Democracia)

Prisoners of conscience

At the time of this writing, Amnesty International has adopted four prisoners of conscience in Cuba: Antonio Michel Lima Cruz, Marcos Maíquel Lima Cruz, Yasmín Conyedo Riverón and her husband Yusmani Rafael Álvarez Esmori.

Prisoners of conscience Antonio Michel Lima Cruz and Marcos Máiquel Lima Cruz

Up to three years in prison for singing a protest song in the street

Brothers Antonio Michel Lima Cruz and Marcos Máiquel Lima Cruz have been imprisoned since Christmas Day 2010. Both are members of the Cuban Council of Human Rights Rapporteurs (Consejo de Relatores de Derechos Humanos de Cuba) – an island-wide umbrella group of organizations, and the Republican Youth Impact Movement (Movimiento Impacto Juvenil Republicano). They are both independent journalists, and were co-founders of the online newspaper Candonga, which was closed by the Cuban authorities in 2009.

The brothers were arrested in the early hours of 25 December 2010 as they were holding a Christmas celebration with a group of family and friends at their home in the city of Holguín, eastern Cuba. They were playing songs by a Cuban hip-hop group which criticize the lack of freedom of expression in the country, and were dancing whilst holding the Cuban flag on the street in front of their house. Shortly after midnight officials from the Department of State Security and police officers arrived, accompanied by about 40 government supporters. The police entered by force and arrested the brothers, while an act of repudiation was carried out against the others in the house. Later the same day, police returned and arrested their father and mother as well as several other friends who were at the family house at the time. They were detained for several days before being released without charge.

Following a summary trial, Antonio Michel and Marcos Máiquel were sentenced to two and three years imprisonment respectively in May 2011 for “insulting symbols of the homeland” (ultraje a los símbolos de la pátria) and “public disorder” (desórdenes públicos). They are currently both being held at the La Ladrillera prison in Holguín Province. Antonio Michel is suffering from prostrate problems and is reportedly not receiving sufficient medical treatment. He is also eligible for conditional release having served over half of his sentence, but the authorities have refused to respond to petitions from his family and lawyer. Their mother, Adisnidia Cruz Segredo, who is a member of the Ladies in White has repeatedly faced harassment from the authorities when attempting to travel to church on Sundays. She was detained for several hours by police on the morning of Sunday 26 February 2012, preventing her from attending mass with the other Ladies in White from Holguín Province.

Amnesty International believes Antonio Michel and Marcos Máiquel’s sentences to be politically motivated, relating to their peaceful exercise of freedom of expression, and disproportionate to the alleged offences. The organization has adopted them as prisoners of conscience and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.

Prisoners of conscience Yasmín Conyedo Riverón and Yusman I Rafael Álvarez Esmori

24 year-old Yasmín Conyedo Riverón and her 23 year-old husband, Yusmani Rafael Álvarez Esmori have been detained since 8 January 2012 on charges of using “violence or intimidation” against a state official (“atentado”), which carries a prison sentence of up to five years. Yasmín is the representative of the Ladies in White in the province of Villa Clara and also an independent journalist. Yusmani is a member of the Las Villas Democratic Youth League.

They were arrested on the morning of Sunday 8 January 2012 at their home in the city of Santa Clara, in the province of Villa Clara, central Cuba. Government supporters carried out an act of repudiation in front of their house, apparently to prevent Yasmín from attending mass with other Ladies in White. Yasmín and Yusnami were both arrested and held at local police stations, along with seven other Ladies in White until 4pm the same day. A neighbour who is a local official from the Cuban Communist Party (Partido Comunista de Cuba - PCC) accosted Yasmín as she was about to enter her home following her release. She insulted Yasmín and slapped her in the face. Yasmín’s aunt, who had emerged from Yasmín’s house, retaliated by slapping the PCC official in the face. Two police officers then proceeded to arrest Yasmín and Yusmani who had also just returned following his release from detention. Yasmín’s aunt has twice informed local authorities that it had been her who had slapped the PCC official, but they have refused to respond. The PCC official has herself asked the local public prosecutor to drop the charges against Yasmín and Yusnami.

Yasmín and Yusnami were also detained for several hours on 25 December 2011 as they tried to attend Christmas mass. Yasmín has a six year-old daughter. Amnesty International believes their detention and possible sentencing is in response to their peaceful dissident activities and is intended to send a message of intimidation to other government critics. The organization has therefore adopted them as prisoners of conscience and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.

52 days of detention for protesting against poverty

Prisoners of conscience Ivonne Malleza Galano, Ignacio Martínez Montejo and Isabel Haydee Álvarez were held for 52 days without charge, following their participation in a peaceful anti-government demonstration.

On 30 November 2011, Ivonne Malleza Galano, a member of the Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco), and her husband Ignacio Martínez Montejo were arrested by police officers while they were staging a peaceful demonstration in Fraternity Park (Parque de la Fraternidad) in Havana. The protest was against hunger and poverty, and they were holding a banner with the slogan “stop hunger, misery and poverty in Cuba”.

Ivonne Malleza Galano was handcuffed and pushed into a police vehicle. Two police officers arrived, tried to confiscate the banner and detained her, along with Ignacio Martínez Montejo. Video footage posted on the internet shows Ivonne Malleza Galano being arrested by the police officers at Fraternity Park while the crowd gathered round her and asked the officers to release her. Isabel Haydee Álvarez, an onlooker watching the demonstration, was detained after protesting that the authorities should let the couple go.

Ivonne Malleza Galano, Isabel Haydee Álvarez and Ignacio Martínez Montejo were released without charge on 20 January. On their release, they were told by state security officials that they would face “harsh sentences” (“condenas severas”) if they continued their dissident activities. Amnesty International had adopted them as prisoners of conscience, as they were detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, and had called for their immediate and unconditional release.

Death in custody

Prisoner of conscience Wilman Villar Mendoza died on 20 January 2012 in Juan Bruno Zayas Hospital in the city of Santiago de Cuba where he had been transferred from prison due to health problems arising during a hunger strike in protest at his unfair trial and imprisonment. He was 31 years old.

A member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unión Patriótica de Cuba - UNPACU), he was arrested on 14 November 2011 for participating in a public demonstration against the Cuban government, in Contramaestre, Santiago de Cuba Province. Eight other members of UNPACU were also arrested during the demonstration.

During his detention, state security officers reportedly threatened to “disappear” him and pressured Wilman Villar Mendoza to stop his public protests and rescind his membership of the dissident group. They told him he would otherwise be brought to trial for contempt (“desacato”), resistance (“resistencia”) and violence or intimidation against a state official (“atentado”); all charges relating to a previous arrest in September 2011. Wilman Villar Mendoza was released on 17 November and then summoned to the Contramaestre Municipal Tribunal on 24 November, where he was tried in private. The judges did not accept his wife’s statement or that of any other witness called in his defence. Wilman Villar Mendoza’s wife was only allowed in the courtroom at the end of the trial.

Wilman Villar Mendoza was sentenced to four years in prison. He was transferred from Contramaestre Municipal Tribunal directly to Aguaderas Prison, in Santiago de Cuba. The same day, he started a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment and sentence. He stopped the hunger strike on 23 December and then resumed it six days later. Amnesty International had adopted Wilman Villar Mendoza as a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.

The Ladies in White – Damas de Blanco

The Cuban government is waging a campaign of harassment and intimidation against the Ladies in White. The women’s organization was formed by a group of female relatives of the 75 prisoners of conscience who were imprisoned in March 2003 for their peaceful expression of critical opinions of the government. The group would attend mass every Sunday in the capital, Havana, dressed in white, to pray for the release of their relatives. Afterwards they would take part in a procession from the church to a nearby park, carrying white flowers.

A solidarity group called the Ladies in Support (Damas de Apoyo) subsequently emerged to support and participate in activities organized by the Ladies in White. In early 2012 the two groups merged and all members are now considered to be Ladies in White. After the release of all the prisoners of conscience from the March 2003 crackdown, the Ladies in White have been campaigning for the release of political prisoners and for the lifting of restrictions on fundamental civil and political freedoms in Cuba.

The Ladies in White have repeatedly suffered harassment and intimidation as they have attempted to carry out their peaceful activities. They are frequently subject to acts of repudiation by government supporters and members of the security forces, and also to short-term arbitrary detentions in order to disrupt their activities.

The authorities have continually prevented the Ladies in White from attending activities at the organization’s headquarters in central Havana. An event held there on 23 February 2012 to commemorate the second anniversary of the death on hunger strike of prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo was severely repressed. No one was allowed to enter the building since the morning before the event. The authorities diverted traffic from passing in front of the headquarters and stationed police officers to check the identification cards of all pedestrians passing through the area. On the afternoon of 23 February scores of government supporters massed for several hours in front of the building to carry out an act of repudiation, and shouted insults at the 40 Ladies in White already assembled inside. Many of them had travelled across the island and were afraid that if they attempted to leave they would be arrested, forcing them to remain inside until the following day. An event to celebrate Human Rights Day on 10 December 2011 was similarly repressed. In the days preceding Human Rights Day, 32 Ladies in White were detained and threatened with further arrest if they left their homes on 10 December to take part in activities. On Sunday 11 December, 48 Ladies in White were arrested during their weekly march on 5th Avenue, in Havana City, after they had attended mass at Santa Rita de Casia Church.

Since mid-2011, the Ladies in White have increased their activities in the eastern provinces of Cuba and have been subject to the increasing crackdown from the authorities on dissidence there, particularly in the province of Santiago de Cuba. This repression has been particularly focused on preventing the Ladies in White from traveling to attend Church services on Sundays, after which they usually carry out a silent march. The Ladies in White have been continually prevented from attending Sunday mass in the Cathedral of the city of Santiago de Cuba and in the nearby town of El Cobre. On the morning of Sunday 21 August, the home of Aimée Garcés Leyva in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba province, was surrounded for several hours by approximately a hundred people, including police officers and government supporters. When Aimée Garcés Leyva and ten other Ladies in White tried to leave to travel to mass, police pushed them and pulled their hair before forcing them into buses. They were driven a few kilometers, then taken in police cars and dropped in their hometowns in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Holguín, often several kilometers from their houses. Similar repression against Ladies in White has been replicated in the neighboring provinces of Holguín, Granma and Guantánamo, with short-term detentions and repudiation acts being used to stop them attending mass and to celebrate events such as Human Rights Day.

In 2005, the Ladies in White were awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament. However, representatives who were invited to attend the award ceremony in Strasbourg, France were refused permission to leave Cuba by the authorities. Authorization for Cuban citizens to travel outside the country is highly restricted and virtually impossible for those deemed to be critics of the government.

Independent journalists

Independent journalists in Cuba work constantly under threat of arbitrary detentions, intimidation and harassment by the authorities. As a result of restrictions on freedom of expression, independent journalists are unable to share independent information without facing direct repression from the authorities. Amnesty International is concerned at the detention of more than 65 independent journalists since March 2011 according to ‘Hablemos Press’ Information Centre. Some have been detained on several occasions.

José Alberto Álvarez Bravo, from Havana City, was detained 15 times between April and October 2011. On 12 July, State Security officials detained him at his house and confiscated his computer, USB flash drives, a digital camera, books and documents. He remained in detention for more than 72 hours. From 15 to 19 April during the VI Congress of the Cuban Communist Party, state security officials forbade him from leaving his home and prevented him from carrying on with his reporting on demonstrations organized by various dissident groups. He has been frequently detained on his way to Santa Rita de Casia Church, in Miramar, Havana City, where the Ladies in White congregate each Sunday.

Cuban independent journalists report on events or issues normally not covered by the state-run media such as reports on the repression and human rights abuses, testimonies from prisoners and prison conditions, economic and social conditions affecting the Cuban population. Independent journalists play a key role in investigating and exposing human rights violations committed by the Cuban security forces, and as such, they are the targets of continuous repression by the Cuban authorities.

In recent years, independent reporting from Cuba has flourished although the Cuban public has very limited access to that information. The state owns and controls all media outlets in Cuba and all means of distributing information. Independent journalists do not have access to state-run media and the internet is accessible to very few Cubans. Limited and restricted access to internet, mobile phones and off-line networks for sharing information such as distribution of USB flash drives or CDs with their reports, are some of the means used to distribute information and circumvent government controls.

Caridad Caballero Batista

More than 17 detentions since July 2011 for reporting on demonstrations and human rights abuses.

Caridad Caballero Batista is an independent journalist based in Holguín, eastern Cuba, a member of the unofficial Eastern Democratic Alliance (Alianza Democrática Oriental) and of the Ladies in White. Since 2006, Caridad Caballero Batista has been reporting on human rights abuses and living conditions in Cuba. Caridad Caballero Batista told Amnesty International that for years, the authorities have been subjecting her to constant harassment, intimidation and surveillance. Her phone, essential to carry out her work as journalist, is repeatedly disconnected as a way of putting extra pressure on her and preventing her from sending her reports.

Caridad Caballero Batista has been arbitrarily detained on several occasions due to her journalist activities and her involvement with the Ladies in White. She told Amnesty International that since the beginning of 2012, she has been detained 9 times, the latest on Sunday 4 March, on her way to church in Holguín. Her husband was detained with her and were both brought to Pedernales Detention Centre. They were released three hours later without charge. The intention was to prevent them from attending mass along with other Ladies in White.

On 24 May 2011, Caridad Caballero Batista was detained by state security officials at her home preventing her from attending the trial of Antonio Michel Lima Cruz and Marcos Máiquel Lima Cruz in Holguín. On several occasions she was detained on her way to Santiago de Cuba to attend mass with other Ladies in White. She told Amnesty International that she has been beaten and ill-treated by state security officials and government supporters during her detentions and has been threatened with charges under Law 88, the Law for the Protection of the National Independence and Economy of Cuba (Ley de Protección de la Independencia Nacional y la Economía de Cuba), the law under which most of the 75 prisoners of conscience from the March 2003 crackdown were sentenced. Despite being detained on numerous occasions, Caridad Caballero Batista has never been brought to trial. She has always been released after a few hours or a few days - the longest detention lasted 80 hours.

Recommendations

Amnesty International makes the following recommendations to the Cuban government aimed at ensuring greater respect for the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement. Important political decisions need to be made by the government in light of the violations detailed above, to secure protection of basic human rights and avoid any repetition of these violations. The rule of law must apply to all citizens, whatever their views, and the government must protect those involved in monitoring human rights violations, including members of human rights organizations, family members, witnesses, lawyers and journalists.

Amnesty International is calling on the Cuban authorities to:

Immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience who have been imprisoned solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Cease the harassment, intimidation and persecution of human rights activists, independent journalists and government critics who peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.

Ensure that no one is detained or imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, association and assembly. Anyone so detained should be released immediately and unconditionally.

Allow independent media outlets and journalists to operate freely, without fear of reprisal, unlawful restrictions and arbitrary prosecutions.

Ensure that everyone is informed, at the time of detention, of the specific reasons for their arrest.

End the practice of incommunicado detention as it violates the rights of people deprived of their liberty.

In accordance with international standards, all detainees should be permitted access to a lawyer of their choice immediately upon arrest and throughout the period of pre-trial detention, as well as to their family and, if necessary, a doctor.

Ensure that interrogation of detainees takes place in the presence of a defence counsel to ensure that statements taken in evidence from a detainee are given freely and not as a result of coercion.

Instruct the Rapid Response Brigades to immediately cease all repudiation and other acts of intimidation, harassment and attacks against those expressing views contrary to the government, their relatives and their homes. The Brigades’ activities should be strictly regulated by law.

Ensure that an independent and impartial inquiry is held into all allegations of ill-treatment by police, state security officials, members of the Rapid Response Brigades and that those involved in these allegations are sanctioned accordingly.

Withdraw or amend legislation which unduly restricts the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and movement to permit open public debate about human rights and government policies. In particular, Amnesty International is calling on the authorities to:

Review articles 53 and 62 of the Constitution and other legal provisions which unlawfully limit the right to freedom of expression with the aim to bringing them into line with international standards.

Amend provisions of the Penal Code, such as article 91, that are so vague that they lend themselves to abuse by state officials to restrict freedom of expression.

Revoke law 88 for the Protection of National Independence and the Economy of Cuba, which facilitates the imprisonment of prisoners of conscience by unlawfully restricting the exercise of fundamental freedoms.

Ensure that legal restrictions on the formation and operation of political parties, NGOs and trade unions are lifted.

Ratify immediately and without limiting reservations, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Extend an invitation to visit the country to the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and allow them unfettered access to all individuals and groups of civil society.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/007/2012/en/ccc6aeba-e892-4079-9e4a-63eebecd8a76/amr250072012en.html