This is how Yosmel Martinez Corcho, a member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) in the province of Villa Clara, ended up after a beating at the hands of State Security collaborators on the night of Saturday, June 22nd.
The images shown in this post were sent by Maydelis Gonzalez Almeida (@maydeliscuba1), a member of the Cuban Reflection Movement in the municipality of Quemado de Guines, where the violence occurred. Gonzalez explains on her Twitter account that the main aggressor was Ariel Acosta, known amongst locals for his violence against dissidents.
Gonzalez Almeida explained to this blog that political police agents told her that Ariel Acosta had been detained, but she later confirmed that this was false. The aggressor was spotted in his home just hours after the beating.
“This is proof that nothing has changed within this government“, said Maydelis in reference to the supposed reforms the regime has been trying to promote through it’s international propaganda.
This news is still a developing story and we have not been able to communicate with Yosmel Martinez yet but here’s the video of the scars left by the violent assault, sent from a cellphone in Cuba:
On Wednesday, January 23rd, dissident Orlando Triana Gonzalez, member of the Cuban Reflection Movement, was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months of prison due to his political activism. The prison sentence was dictated in the Tribunal of Camajuani and numerous dissidents were arrested throughout the central province of Villa Clara as they tried to make it to the trial to show solidarity with Triana, among them Librado Linares Garcia, leader of the MCR.
But a group of 4 dissidents in the municipality Quemado de Guines- 3 of MCR and 1 from FANTU- carried out a protest march with signs condemning the sentence and demanding freedom for Triana Gonzalez. The demonstrators were Maydelis González Almeida, Nosbel Jomolca, Juan Carlos Fernández Morales and Yosmel Martínez.
“Upon hearing the news of the sentence in the afternoon, we carried out a march down Second Avenue South in Quemado de Guines with signs and shouting slogans demanding freedom for Orlando Triana and all political prisoners“, said Gonzalez Almeida, “this dictatorial regime has committed yet another one of its injustices“.
The pro-freedom activist adds that the trial was “based on lies and false testimonies against the human rights defender Orlando Triana“.
During the protest, neighbors did not repudiate the demonstrators when they shouted slogans of freedom, while political police agents did not have time to carry out arrests, affirmed Maydelis. The video of the protest below:
Meanwhile, Librado Linares, who spent various hours detained in a police vehicle for trying to make it to the trial, said that the Movement which he leads will continue demanding freedom for Orlando Triana Gonzalez.
(The video above shows images of the details in this post, when 3 activists were being surrounded by regime agents, via: Maydelis Gonzalez Almeida)
The home of dissident couple Maydelis González Almeida and Nosbel Jamorca Buenavides, located in the municipality of Quemado de Guines, in Villa Clara province, was surrounded by members of the political police and State Security during the dawn hours of October 20th, who impeded the activists from going out to the streets. Also present in the house was human rights activistJuan Carlos Fernández Morales. The previously mentioned are all members of theCuban Reflection Movementand were planning to travel to the municipality of Camajuani to participate in a meeting at the home of the leader of that organization, Librado Linares García.
Linares García had Tweeted that morning that in addition to the situation in Quemado de Guines, dissidents were also surrounded in other municipalities such as Caibarien, Cumanayagua, and Vueltas, all of which belong to the province of Villa Clara.
According to Maydelis González, she noticed that her home was surrounded at around 5 AM. “When I took a glance outside I saw several State Security and police agents stationed there. They told me, my husband and Juan Carlos that we could not step out and that had to stay inside our homes“, explained the dissident, highlighting that the operation was being led under the direction of Jose Roque, a State Security official from Quemado de Guines.
The response of the activists was firm: “We are not going to accept our homes as prisons“.
Agent Roque told them that if they kept trying to step out, Maydelis would be taken to Penal Instruction in Santa Clara and that the two men would be detained in dungeons of the Quemado de Guines Police Unit.
“I told them that they could send me wherever they wished“, said Maydelis, “but I was going to step out of my house…and so we continued with our plans“.
The agents continued with the police cordon- which can be seen in the video attached to this post- but the response of the activists was to start shouting slogans against the agents and so that the citizens could hear, such as “Down with Raul because Fidel no longer exists“, and “The Streets Belong to the People“.
“Quickly, the police officers called the delegate of Quemado de Guines, known as Jose Lazaro, to bring his Lada vehicle (the green car which can be seen in the video) and they shoved us into the car and we were taken to the Quemado de Guines Unit until afternoon hours“.
In that Unit, there was also another activist who was detained- Yosmel Martinez Corcho, of the Central Opposition Coalition.
After the detention, the 4 dissidents were sent back to the home of Maydelis and Nosbel, where they carried out a meeting and where they continued to shout slogans against their oppressors.
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The video attached to this post is courtesy of Maydelis Gonzalez Almeida, from the Cuban Reflection Movement. The quality of the images are not perfect, considering it was recorded with a cellphone from inside the home, but one can clearly hear the slogans being shouted by the dissidents.
Pedazos de la Isla 