SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- The independent journalist José Luis Tan Estradacorrespondent of CubaNet in Camagüey, he was interrogated this Wednesday, October 9, by State Security, who issued him various threats and told him that his humanitarian aid contributed to “social degradation.”
The testimony of the “interview” to which agents identified as Cristian and Laura subjected him exposes the intimidation strategies used by the Cuban political police to harass independent journalists. Tan Estrada, for two hours, heard threats and defamations from the repressors.
During the interrogation it came out CubaNetas the journalist testified: “According to them, all of us who work in CubaNetwe are destined to degrade and demoralize the achievements of the ‘Revolution’, and that ‘none of us are journalists, because we do not have that faculty and it is a medium that does not belong to the State.'”
In addition, they intimidated him with the new Social Communication Law, claiming that he would be “on the path to falling into the crimes of mercenarism and propaganda against the government,” while at the same time they expressed their “concern” about journalism and the aid it provides, since In the opinion of the agents, Tan has become “the face of the counterrevolution in the province.”
As has happened in summonses previousthey showed him a file they had put together with all of Tan’s social media posts, and alleged statements from witnesses that they have never exhibited.
They also mentioned the journalist José Raúl Gallego, who, in the words of the repressor Cristian, would have trained Tan at the university and currently “has demonstrated aggressive behavior against the country on social networks.”
On the other hand, they referred to the activist Yamilka Lafita, known as Lara Crofs on social networks: “According to Laura and Cristian, both Lara and I do not provide any help out of feeling or from the heart, but to contribute to social degradation.”
Tan Estrada, in response to this new episode of harassment, has argued that he will not cease his journalistic work, but that his “pen and ink will always be in the feelings and at the side of ordinary Cubans, showing their reality.”
As a critical voice of the Cuban regime and defender of human rights on the island, the Cuban dictatorship has kept him imprisoned and forced him to undergo long interrogations.
Tan’s solidarity work
The communicator has carried out humanitarian work that transcends his journalistic activity to help those who need it most.
In September, he created and currently promotes a initiative of solidarity to help boys and girls in situations of poverty and abandonment in the province of Camagüey.
With an aid campaign launched with the aim of bringing resources and support to minors in conditions of extreme vulnerability, they have been able to reach out to dozens of children, who have received school supplies such as backpacks and pencils, as well as clothing, shoes, personal hygiene and treats.
In exclusive statements for CubaNetTan Estrada explained that the campaign arose after personally verifying the difficult living conditions of several children who live in “very intricate neighborhoods in Camagüey, neighborhoods that not even the provincial authorities know exist.”
According to the journalist, these minors face “a situation of abandonment, poverty and illness,” which led him to resort to the solidarity and empathy of his followers on social networks to collect resources.
