MADRID, Spain.- Cubans Dairon Duque de Estrada Aguilera, Ediyersy Santana Jouz and Yoandi Rodríguez remain in prison for protesting against the regime on May 1.
Estrada Aguilera was arrested on May 1, 2020 for shouting phrases against Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution and the Police in his neighborhood of the Veguita de Galo neighborhood in the city of Santiago de Cuba.
In February of the following year, the young man, who was 22 years old at the time, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for the alleged crimes of spreading an epidemic and attack.
In recent statements to Radio Television Martí His father, Julio César Duque de Estrada, assured that he was a young worker who integrated favorably into society and had no criminal record.
“He was motivated by a peaceful act of freedom of expression, adding to the calls for change made by civil society in Cuba in those days. (…) He manifested his verbal repudiation against those responsible for the situation, without being a member of any opposition organization, ”he explained.
For their part, Ediyersy Santana Jouz and her stepson Yoandi Rodríguez, were sentenced to two years and three months and one year and two months respectively in 2022; accused of the crimes of resistance and contempt.
Santana Jouz, a member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), was arrested after finishing a live broadcast from the Facebook social network, where he denounced the Cuban government’s strategy of selling alcoholic beverages to motivate people to attend their events for the First of May in Camagüey.
The usual acts and parades orchestrated by the regime for May Day were postponed this year for next Friday.
According to official information, this decision was due “to inclement weather and the forecast for the next few hours.”
For the first time since 1959 in Cuba, the traditional International Workers’ Day parade will not be held in the Plaza de la Revolución for economic reasons.
In its place, smaller events will be held in “communities, work and student centers for several days and parades in the country’s municipalities.”
