The youtuber Cuban Hilda Núñez Díaz, known as hildina, was arrested this Thursday in Santiago de Cuba by police officers. More than 30 officers blocked access to the block where the young woman lives, broke into her house and, after conducting a search, seized her phone and her computer.
Núñez, 24, “is being questioned” by State Security after a “big operation,” the young woman’s own Facebook page reported. several weeks ago, hildina she had recorded a video where she gave an account of the threats to which she was being subjected by the regime’s political police, who had prohibited her from “recording in Havana.”
“They know absolutely everything,” she denounced, alluding to the blackmail of the agents, who announced that they were going to “complicate her life” and reminded her that she was the mother of a small child. “Where is the freedom of speech?” she demanded. “They don’t want the reality of Cuba to be known.”
Núñez continued to work on his YouTube channel despite the media campaign that the regime launched against him. A Facebook profile related to the ruling party, mercenaries in the crosshairs, tried to discredit the young woman. He accused her of “hypocrisy,” of “manipulating the reality” of Cubans, and of “selling herself as a good Samaritan.”
The same profile published, a few minutes before Hildina’s arrest was made public, another post. She is described, openly, as a “terrorist”, a “simulator with proven ties to those who from the US finance and incite violent actions in our national territory.” They also mention her alleged links with the businessman Manuel Milanés and the youtuber Ultrack.
The complaint about the arrest of Núñez has caused a wave of indignation among users
“Behind Hildina and her ‘harmless’ videos is the same strategy that ‘gave birth’ to the most rancid and violent of the mercenaries based in the US today,” snapped Mercenarios en la mira.
in his last transmissionon March 5, hildina He claimed to have received the sum of 34,000 pesos – around $200 – from a subscriber to his channel residing in Germany. With that money, she took to the streets to buy food and deliver it to various disadvantaged people in Santiago de Cuba. In her own video, the young woman exposed that State Security had prevented her from recording in a city market and that a woman had rebuked her calling her an “oppositionist.”
The complaint about the arrest of Núñez has caused a wave of outrage among users. “His content about him only talks about the daily life of Cubans and helps many people in need with basic necessities,” said Jonathan Trujillo Pérez. “This is a violation of human rights. Once again, censorship and the lack of freedom of expression are evident.”
The Cuban regime has tightened its repressive measures against activists and opponents residing on the island. Pressing them not to continue publishing content that denies government propaganda is one of the priorities of the political police.
Duanys Moreno, the young man who reported minute by minute the explosion at the Matanzas Supertanker Base, was harassed by State Security and spent several days subjected to torture and threats. Months later he returned to record from exile. “The most important thing in a fight is to preserve life”, declared to 14ymedioalluding to the risk faced by youtubers who denounce the crisis in Cuba and the strict surveillance to which they are subjected by the regime.
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