In Caimanera, one of the most closely watched municipalities on the island due to its proximity to the US naval base in Guantanamo and due to the anti-government protests registered last May, the Government advertisement this Tuesday a package of actions to “reanimate” society and the economy in the “first anti-imperialist trench in Cuba”, on the anniversary of the 9/11 demonstrations.
Without a single mention of the protests, the provincial daily overcome indicated that the municipality was designated as the “headquarters” corresponding to the province of Guantánamo to commemorate the assault under the direction of Fidel Castro, 70 years ago, of the Moncada barracks, in Santiago de Cuba, and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, in Bayamo , on July 26, 1953.
The text dispatches in three paragraphs and a few photographs a public works plan, which includes completing the construction of the Hatibonico hydraulic pipeline. This project, which the press referred a year ago as the “lifeguard” of the municipality of Manuel Tames, he had to alleviate the water shortage that some 10,000 inhabitants of the area face during the dry season, establishing a 10-kilometer connection between the Yateras river and the old Romelie center.
Works also include the installation of several tanks, the first stage of a retaining wall in Loma del Norte and the construction of houses. “The embellishment of institutions and communities is also expected, as well as the promotion of food production,” the newspaper said.
The residents of Caimanera managed, through videos posted on their social networks, to expose the police violence and the arbitrary arrests of which they were victims.
On the night of Saturday May 6, hundreds of Cubans took to the streets in Caimanera to protest and demand freedom. The Cuban regime immediately sent the National Special Brigade of the Ministry of the Interior, known as black beretsto suppress the protesters.
However, the residents of Caimanera managed, through videos posted on their social networks, to expose the police violence and the arbitrary arrests of which they were victims.
The next day, the official press issued a statement in which he described it as “an unusual manifestation”, originated by the disturbances of a group of people in a state of intoxication.
The protest challenged the excessive vigilance that the Government maintains over Caimanera. To enter the municipality, authorization must be requested in advance from the Ministry of the Interior. Electrified fences and the military supervising every movement of the citizens are part of the daily life of this town.
Despite the fact that the Government dismissed the magnitude of the protest with reports and statements that attributed it to “anti-social” elements, the consequences for the residents were severe. Victoria Martínez Valdivia, mother of two detainees – Felipe Octavio Correa Martínez, 26 years old, and Luis Miguel Alarcón Martínez, 32 years old – denounced on several occasions the excessive use of force by the uniformed officers and the precarious conditions in which their prisoners were kept. children.
Finally, at the beginning of June it was released Correa, while Alarcón Martínez is still detained. The authorities also released Yandri Pelier, another detainee during the demonstration.
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