Castro dictatorship marks Cuba’s Independence Day by arresting peaceful dissidents

Agustín Valentín López Canino, Cuban political activist and blogger

Cuba’s communist Castro dictatorship took the occasion of Cuba’s Independence Day to remind members of the peaceful opposition that there is no liberty or freedom in Cuba.

Via CubaNet (my translation):

Cuba: Peaceful members of the opposition suffer repression on May 20

Agustin Valentin Lopez Canino, an independent journalist, blogger, and creator of the website “Cubans on the Inside and Below,” was arrested today, May 20, 2023, in a joint operation by State Security and the National Revolutionary Police (PNR).

The arrest was reported by René Fernández Quiroga, a source who managed to record several seconds of the moment when a State Security agent entered López Canino’s backyard and later emerged with him in custody.

At the time of writing this report, Lopez Canino’s cell phone remains turned off, suggesting it, too, had been confiscated.

This writer has also been unable to locate other activists involved in the protest, such as Alexis Pérez Lescailles.

The arbitrary arrest aims to prevent López Canino from participating in the peaceful protest planned and announced for a third consecutive year, of which the website “Cubans on thee Inside and Below” has been ardently promoting.

According to information obtained by CubaNet, on May 17, López Canino was summoned to the Calabazar PNR Sub-Unit by 1st Lieutenant Adismilka Pérez B, who serves as the Sector Chief of the El Globo neighborhood, belonging to the Calabazar People’s Council in the municipality of Boyeros.

Continue reading (in Spanish) HERE.