Miami, United States. – The Bureau of Affairs of the Western Hemisphere of the United States Department of State condemned this Friday the arrest of the Cuban opponent Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies Movement of Blanco, after his participation in a Mass of the Palm Sunday with the Business Manager of the US Embassy in Havana, Mike Hammer.
In A message posted on the social network Xthe diplomatic office expressed: “We are outraged to know that the Cuban regime arrested Berta Soler after attending Ramos Sunday Mass with the Hammer business manager. This not only demonstrates the disdain of the regime for religious freedom, but also exposes the brutal treatment of the regime towards their own people when trying, according to their own admission, intimidate US diplomats.”
Since this Thursday, both Soler and her husband, the political and activist Expritor Ángel Moya Acosta, remain in an unknown whereabouts after having been arrested by regime’s forces. The complaint was made by María Cristina Labrada, also a member of the ladies of Blanco, who warned about the disappearance and suggested that he could be linked to Soler’s recent meeting with the US official.
The Bureau of Affairs of the Western Hemisphere reaffirmed its commitment to Cuban civil society: “The US embassy in Havana will continue to meet with Cubans from all sectors, particularly with those that defend human rights, fundamental freedoms and human dignity.”
The Blanco Ladies movement has indicated that this is not the first time that Soler and Moya are arrested in recent weeks. On April 6 they were arrested when trying to leave their home – which also works as the headquarters of the group – to participate in a peaceful protest in favor of political prisoners. Previously, on March 30, both were transferred to police stations for refusing a medical examination during an arrest, in an episode that included threats against Soler by a common inmate with a history of murder.
Since its foundation in 2003, after the arrests of black spring, the Ladies Movement of Blanco has been a peaceful resistance symbol against authoritarianism on the island. Berta Soler, nurse by profession, and Ángel Moya, sentenced to 20 years in jail during that repressive wave, have been constant blank of surveillance, arbitrary arrests and institutional violence.
Human rights organizations inside and outside Cuba have demanded the immediate release of both activists and have warned about the intensification of repression against dissent.
