Havana/The Catholic intellectual and activist Dagoberto Valdés Hernández was arrested this Friday by State Security agents in his home in Pinar del Río, in an operation in which police officers also participated. The complaint was made by the Center for Coexistence Studies (CEC), an organization that Valdés has directed for more than two decades and which has become one of the most persistent spaces of independent civic thought in Cuba.
According to the information disseminated by Coexistencethe operation was led by Major ErnestState Security officer who “serves” that organization. The agent showed up at Valdés’ house accompanied by a police patrol and took him away without explaining the reasons for the arrest or the place to which he would be taken. Since then, members of the CEC have tried to locate him at the Police Headquarters and at the State Security offices in Pinar del Río.
The arrest was not limited to Valdés. Shortly after, Yoandy Izquierdo, a member of the Coexistencewent to the headquarters of the Technical Investigation Department (DTI) in Pinar del Río to find out Valdés’ situation. There he was received by Major Ernesto himself, who proceeded to arrest him: “You saved me a trip, because right now I was going to look for you too.” Izquierdo left his phone with some friends before being detained at that DTI headquarters, located at kilometer 4 of the highway to San Juan and Martínez.
A central figure of the Cuban Catholic laity, Valdés has been for decades a reference for critical thinking not aligned with power
Coexistence He told this newspaper that both Dagoberto Valdés and Yoandy Izquierdo are in that police facility. The way in which the arrest occurred once again brings to the fore a recurring practice of the Cuban repressive apparatus: detention without a court order, without formal notification to the family and without information about the legal status of the detainees. It is unknown if this is a short-term forced disappearance, a tactic designed to sow uncertainty, intimidate the environment and avoid the immediate reaction of public opinion.
Dagoberto Valdés is not a new name in the State Security files. An agricultural engineer by training and a central figure of the Cuban Catholic laity, he has been for decades a reference for critical thinking not aligned with power. First from the magazine Stained glassin the nineties, and then since CoexistenceValdés has promoted a discourse focused on human dignity, citizen participation and the need for a peaceful and democratic transition in Cuba. That combination of structured thinking, moderate language and persistence has proven especially uncomfortable for the regime.
The harassment against him and his team has been systematic. Interrogations, police summonses, veiled threats, smear campaigns and temporary detentions are part of the repertoire applied against the center. On several occasions, Valdés has been intercepted on the road, detained for hours and subjected to interrogations focused on his international ties, the financing of the magazine and the center’s contacts with other civil society actors. None of these actions have led to judicial proceedings, but they have served to maintain constant pressure.
Since its founding, the Coexistence Studies Center has opted for the analysis of Cuban reality from a plural perspective, addressing topics such as economy, education, culture and citizen rights.
This Friday’s arrest occurs in a context of tightening political control and growing intolerance towards any form of autonomous organization. While the Government insists on its discourse of “unity” in the face of the economic and social crisis, coupled with the fear of military actions similar to those carried out by the United States in Caracas, the repression against critical voices, even those that support dialogue and non-violence, intensifies.
In recent days, other visible names in the critical press and intellectuals have followed a similar script. The journalist Henry Constantindirector of Cuba Timewas released after 44 hours detained and held incommunicado in Havana. A few days later, the writer and columnist Jorge Fernandez Era He was detained for 16 hours, also at an unknown location, after leaving to carry out his monthly civic protest.
Since its founding, the Coexistence Studies Center has opted for the analysis of Cuban reality from a plural perspective, addressing topics such as economy, education, culture and citizen rights. Their texts, seminars and proposals have avoided the language of direct confrontation, which has not prevented the authorities from adopting radical measures against the project. For State Security, the simple fact of thinking about Cuba outside the official margins constitutes a threat.
On social networks, activists, intellectuals and believers have expressed their concern and have demanded the immediate release of Valdés. The reaction, however, once again collides with the usual wall of official silence.
