MIAMI, United States. – The Ministry of the Interior (MININT) of Cuba reported this Monday the arrest in Havana of 10 Panamanian citizens accused of committing “propaganda acts against the constitutional order”, a crime provided for in article 124 of the Penal Code.
The official note from the MININT—disseminated by the Presidency of Cuba and several official media—was initially deleted and republished shortly after, according to reports. Cuban journalist José Raúl Gallego and other Cuban users on Facebook.
According to the official statement, dated this Monday, the 10 Panamanian citizens, residents in the isthmus country, were arrested on Saturday, February 28 after being considered “authors of propaganda acts against the constitutional order.”
The text adds that the “initial investigations show that these people had been directed to enter Cuba with the purpose of making signs with subversive content, contrary to the constitutional order.”
According to the same note, after meeting the supposed objective, they had to leave the country and, “upon their return to Panamathey would receive a sum of money that, according to their first statements, ranges between 1,000 and 1,500 dollars for each one.”
Likewise, the MININT He assured that “from the moment of the arrest, those involved have acknowledged being the authors of events of this nature, carried out in the capital during the early hours of Saturday, February 28,” and concluded by noting that “investigations continue.”
However, after its initial publication, the statement was removed from the official Facebook pages. On this point, the journalist José Raúl Gallego wrote: “This information was published by the MININT and the Cuban Presidency on their Facebook pages, but they immediately deleted it. Surely they will put it back later with some ‘correction’.”
Gallego also questioned the plausibility of the accusation related to the alleged payment to the detainees. “They say they were paying some Panamanians ‘between 1,000 and 1,500 dollars for a poster’. Cuba wakes up every day full of posters and with the situation in the country, who thinks there is a need to look in Panama for anyone who wants to put up a poster for 1,000 dollars. Please,” he wrote.
In his publication, the journalist added: “The State Security “She is very active inventing ‘aggressions’.”
The official statement did not identify the detainees nor detail the content of the alleged signs, the exact places where they would have been placed or the evidence supporting the accusation. Nor did it offer information about consular assistance, legal representation or the procedural situation of those involved.
Article 124 of Penal Code establishes sanctions of deprivation of liberty for those who incite or create propaganda considered contrary to the constitutional order. In its current wording, it contemplates penalties of three to eight years in prison, which can be increased if certain means are used.
