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Andy García Lorenzo, one of the most visible faces of the 11J protests in Santa Clara, has been released this Monday after for peacefully protesting. His story is that of thousands of Cubans who have paid a high price simply for exercising their right to express themselves.
Received with hugs and under strict surveillance, Andy emerged into a country more battered than when he was imprisoned: a Cuba impoverished, broken, but also more awake. He still carries the scars of a sentence that should have never existed, etched on his skin and in his soul.
In social media, his mother celebrated his return with a message filled with faith and pride: "Today marks a new chapter in your life, one that is different and tough, but you are not alone. You never have been. [...] Welcome home, son. God bless you greatly."
He was arrested on July 11, 2021, during the historic protests that shook the country, shouting "freedom." He was only 23 years old. His crime: raising his voice, taking to the streets, believing that protesting should not be a criminal act. That’s why they locked him up.
In these years behind bars, his family, part of which is now exiled in Germany, continued to fight, to denounce, and to stand by him. “There is no true justice while freedom remains an exception”, wrote the activist Saily González, who celebrated his release but did not cease to denounce the repressive nature of the system that imprisoned him.
Although he is at home, Andy is not completely free. He is watched, observed. His case is a warning and, at the same time, a symbol. A young man who refused to be silent, who resisted fear, who now walks again through the streets of Santa Clara with his head held high.
"Respect, closeness, and commitment," as defined by those closest to him, are now the legacy of his time in prison and the driving force for those who continue to raise their voices both inside and outside the island.
During his time in prison, Andy went on several hunger strikes as a form of protest against isolation and prison conditions. His family has reported multiple times that he was a victim of torture and mistreatment by prison authorities, and that he was held in punishment cells under degrading conditions.
In 2022, he was transferred to a higher-security prison. His sister, Roxana García Lorenzo, publicly denounced that visits were infrequently allowed, and that his physical and emotional health was a major concern.
Andy’s case was taken on by organizations such as Prisoners Defenders and Amnesty International, which recognized him as a prisoner of conscience.
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