At least six Cuban dissident artists were violently arrested yesterday as they tried to attend an event at an independent art gallery. Witnesses say Cuban State Security used extreme force during the arrests, sending a large amount of agents and vehicles to detain the artists. Most of them were later released.
Among the artists arrested and later released were Tania Bruguera, Iris Ruiz, Adonis Milan, Amaury Pacheco, and Yanelis Nuñez. Dissident artists Lia Villares and Luis Manuel Otero, however, remain imprisoned. Both are part of the CubaDecide organization calling for free and fair elections in Cuba.
The artists were attending a presentation of British playwright Sarah Kane’s Psychosis. The venue, however, was surrounded by Cuban State Security agents. They prevented one of the artists in the play, Iris Ruiz from entering. When Lia Villares came out to assess the situation, both her and Ruiz were arrested. State Security then threatened others who were inside the venue that they would be beaten if they tried to come out.
This latest display of violence and repression against those who dissent by Cuba’s apartheid dictatorship is a continuation of the regime’s brutal oppression, which has never wavered or decreased over its nearly six-decade history. Despite attempts to portray the Castro regime as one that has changed for the better, the tyrannical dictatorship continues to brutally and violently oppress the Cuban people.
Read more (in Spanish) about yesterday’s violent arrests in 14yMedio and Diario de Cuba.