The surroundings of the offices of the municipal government of Cerro, in Havana, were taken over by a police operation this Monday. In that place, at 11 in the morning, Amelia Calzadilla, the Cuban mother who with your videos on networks has become a symbol of discontent in Cuba.
As reporters from the 14ymedio, several representatives of the international press, including the Spanish agency EFE, were stationed in front of the government headquarters, located on Calzada del Cerro between Buenos Aires and Echevarría.
Close to the corner of Tejas, one of the most important commercial enclaves in the city, the area is very busy but the traffic this Monday was different from other days. In the surrounding streets, rows of police patrols, a broad operation of plainclothes agents and the presence of accredited journalists made the difference.
The internet signal in the place was also unstable. Neighbors of the neighborhood reported to this newspaper that in nearby stores, usually out of stock, they put sausage and chicken on sale this Monday.
“And what’s going on here?” asked a young woman who passed by the place a few minutes after Calzadilla had entered the municipal People’s Power Assembly building. “That girl who was summoned here today,” replied another passerby without needing to add more details, since the story of this mother of three children has traveled the Island in a few days.
In his last direct transmission, published this Sunday, Calzadilla made the summons public that she had received, fearing that it was a “prepared trap” and they could take her prisoner.
Various activists, such as the businesswoman Saily González, from Santa Clara, invited Havanans to support Calzadilla on Monday morning, but only passing people and agents were observed at the scene.
Oppositionist Martha Beatriz Roque, director of the Cuban Center for Human Rights and former Black Spring prey, also released a video message in which he asks Amelia Calzadilla: “Keep denouncing and don’t care what they say about you.”
“Unfortunately, they tell me that she does not want to talk to dissidents, which I greatly respect, but she has to know that her video has had a great impact on the networks,” Roque says in his broadcast, who urges Calzadilla to “not defend itself”: “The dictatorship does the same to get rid of its sight”. And he insists: “No one is going to judge you, Amelia, people are very happy with what you uploaded on the networks, but if you want to speak again, don’t defend yourself at all, you don’t have to defend yourself, everyone knows what what this regime has done for 63 years.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
