Relatives are unaware of the legal situation of the majority of the detainees and Cubalex denounces that this case is part of the pattern of criminalization of peaceful protests in Cuba.
MADRID, Spain.- At least 15 people remain detained after the protest that occurred on October 7 in the Santa Felicia neighborhood, in the Marianao municipality, according to denounced the Cubalex organization. The demonstration took place amid prolonged power outages and problems with water supplies.
During the protestresidents of Santa Felicia and the nearby Pogolotti neighborhood took to the streets, blocked an avenue and banged pots and pans to express their discontent. Witnesses assured that the area had been without electricity for hours and that in the previous days the outages were frequent.
According to Cubalex, the detainees were transferred to the VIVAC detention center in Havana. So far there has been no official information about their identities or legal status.
Among those arrested was activist Liván Gómez Castillo, coordinator in Havana of the Union for Free Cuba Party (PUNCLI), who was later released. Cubalex specifies that during his arrest State Security agents tried to link him with the protest and with posters that appeared in Marianao, although reviewed recordings showed that he did not participate in the demonstration.
“Most of the boys who were taken to the Bivouac are from Marianao. I saw them, but I don’t remember names. There were many. By my count we were over 15,” said Gómez Castillo.
On the other hand, it is known that two protesters were sent to preventive detention in the Valle Grande prison. One of them is Yuniel Serrano Batista. Both are charged with the crime of Public Disorders. According to versions of family members and activists cited by Martí Newsone was accused of setting a dumpster on fire and the other of resisting arrest.
Cubalex warned that this case is part of a pattern of repression and criminalization of peaceful protests in Cuba.
According to the Cuban Human Rights Observatory, so far in 2025, more than 2,400 repressive actions have been recorded in the country, including hundreds of arbitrary arrests. Only in September In the past, the Madrid-based organization counted 212 repressive actions, including 39 arbitrary arrests and 173 other types of abuse, in what it described as “a black month for freedom of expression.”
