Dayron Yarisbel García Bolaños was arrested in the early hours of this Friday after participating in the protests over the long blackouts in Caibarién, Villa Clara. According to the family’s complaint, the 25-year-old, who also took to the streets on July 11, 2021, was at his mother’s house at the time of the arrest.
“They were specifically looking for him and the police came up to him, handcuffed him, threw him on the floor and put him in the car,” says Mario Luis García Marrero, father of Dayron Yarisbel. “ More than 1,500 people paraded and the only ones who took prisoner were him and another girl,” he adds, insisting that the arrest was very violent and in front of the young man’s mother, who told what happened.
While his son was detained, García Marrero remained inside his house as a precaution, very close to the demonstrations, because both he and Dayron Yarisbel, a brother and some close friends had warning letters from the Police for having participated in the protests. popular 11J.
Dayron Yarisbel was arrested after one in the morning and was transferred to the Caibarién Police Station.
Dayron Yarisbel’s arrest took place after one in the morning. He was transferred to the Caibarién Police station. Another young woman who was also arrested that night was released after paying a fine, says García Marrero, but her son is still in prison and may be prosecuted.
After learning of the arrest, the father appeared in the unit and the Police informed him that the case will go to the Prosecutor’s Office, which will take care of filing a complaint and, depending on the charges against him, such as “public disorder” , you can be fined or spend up to three years in jail.
Regarding the protests this Friday, García Marrero recounts: “Things are heated in Cuba with the problem of blackouts. Here in Caibarién there had been no touch of cauldrons, but that night when they turned off the power at 12 the town began to meet in the La Güira park”.
The protesters began to bang pots and pans. “That looked like a carnival,” the man describes. The people who were in the park joined another group that was doing the same thing on the town’s Malecón.
As soon as Dayron Yarisbel heard the sound of the saucepans, he went to the demonstration, so García Marrero decided to go look for him. He then knew that he had been arrested. “They don’t stop him on the boardwalk, they stop him at his mother’s house,” which is somewhat distant from the epicenter of the protests, insists the father, pointing out that the concentration had ended because they had restored the electricity service.
“I thought that the protest was not going to happen but they began to play in different parts. They came together and everyone ended up on the Malecón,” he says. In addition to playing the pans, they also shouted loudly: “Turn on the power, pinga!” “Díaz-Canel singao!”, “Freedom!”, “Homeland and life!”, Describes him, just as seen in some videos that they circulated in social networks.
Although he acknowledges that on 11J many more people took to the streets, “almost the entire town”, during the protest this Friday at dawn, women
Although he acknowledges that on 11J many more people took to the streets, “almost the entire town”, during the protest this Friday at dawn the women stood out, calling on others to join and “defend their children” against the precarious situation in the country. According to some neighbors, it was learned during the afternoon of this Friday that a teacher from the municipality was also summoned to appear at the Police for protesting.
Regarding the current situation of his son, he fears that he will be imprisoned for several years, since the young man “didn’t do anything.” In the event that he is jailed, “more reprisals will come” because “I myself am not going to stay like this.”
Caibarién, despite being a fishing port, “is bankrupt”, like the entire country, says García Marrero, who confirms that covid and dengue are present in that area.
Dayron Yarisbel has tried on several occasions to leave the country illegally. His father recalled that on one of those occasions he spent five months detained in the Bahamas after being intercepted on a raft.
Currently, the young man works in construction with his uncle, but in Cuba “there is no future,” García Marrero insists. “What he is always longing for is to be able to leave. In one of the attempts [de salida ilegal] the ship broke up on a key, they all almost drowned; there were six.”
The longing for Dayron Yarisbel is that of many young people from Caibarién. “About two or three days ago a friend of his who was always here at my house left, who came to the United States. He and four others. They got into a boat they made of zinc roofing sheets and although they encountered the Cuban border guards, they were lucky enough to be allowed to continue and they arrived,” he says. “There is a lot of youth that is leaving and is thinking of leaving.”
________________________
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.
