The strong threats from the Cuban State Security force the independent journalist Yadiris Fuentes to leave the house where she has lived since June 2021 in the next few days. The owner of the house was warned by the political police that if she did not evict her, she could be fined or even lose the property because it is an illegal rental.
According to Fuentes to 14ymedio, you can only stay in the house until February 5, the date on which the month you paid in advance ends. “Since the state of siege that we all had back in November (following the call launched by the Archipelago platform) they hadn’t bothered me anymore, they hadn’t called or seen me,” he explains.
“On Monday, January 17, I was not at home but Manuel called me on my cell phone, the agent who ‘helps me,'” says Fuentes, who lived in Cienfuegos for years although she is originally from Pinar del Río. The officer told her that he wanted to see her in two days, last Wednesday afternoon. “Citame, if you want to see me, quote me,” he replied.
The reporter from Cuban DNA told the Security agent that he refused to respond to verbal summonses and to date he has not received any official document to appear before the authorities, for which he considers that the objective of the political police “was to intimidate and that, perhaps, with rent is enough for them” harassment.
“It is a technique that they have already used enough, especially against women, it is as if they see us weaker and more pressable”
“The day after that call, my landlord informs me that State Security went to see him and they told him that, ‘either evict me or they will apply a fine of 15,000 pesos’ and that they can confiscate the house. Evidently I am not going to subject anyone to living under that pressure and I told him that if so, I would leave on February 5,” he declares.
Fuentes assures that these pressures to leave her without a place to live are not going to divert her from her profession: “This is not going to affect anything I do as a journalist, but while I am concentrating on seeing where I live, obviously I cannot work in the same way and they know that and I think that’s part of the method”.
The reporter recalls that this type of pressure has been seen before and that her case “is not extraordinary or unique.” “It’s a technique that they’ve used quite a bit, especially against women, it’s as if they see us as weaker and more pressable.” Among the independent reporters who have suffered this type of pressure to lose their rents is Camila Acosta, contributor to the news portal CubaNet.
Faced with this dilemma, she assures, “some friendship always appears” that can take her in for a few days while she finds a place to live, but she insists that she tries “not to exploit those avenues” because she doesn’t like “bothering anyone or subjecting them to what it means the pressure of State Security”.
“Obviously I am not going to subject anyone to living under that pressure and I told him that if so, I would leave on February 5”
“Right now, getting a rental is super difficult. There was a time when Havana was the place where you could get it in the easiest way because there were several channels to reach them, but right now, for example, in Revolico, the buying and selling platform, you have very few options. Mostly what there are are ads for people looking for rent,” he details.
Based on his experience, searching for options these days, he has noticed that prices “have gone up a lot” and that right now “everyone is above 7,000 or 9,000 pesos” (between 280 and 360 dollars at the official exchange rate), and when communicate with the owners inform that they are already occupied.
The independent reporter is aware that what she is experiencing “is a cyclical story” and that wherever she is residing they can once again put pressure on her landlords, even if the rent is legal.
This scenario has served as motivation for a group of independent Cuban journalists to launch the Lever House campaign, with the aim of raising funds to acquire a property. With the initiative, released by the Verkami platform, the activists and reporters want to create a network “of bonding, protection and emotional and psychological support.”
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