Jesus Javier Basulto Abelarde, a 23-year-old young man from Camagüey, denounced the threats and coercion of State Security (SE) against him, after participating in the historic 11J protests in Cuba.
The university student, who recorded and shared shocking images of the protests on social networks, ended up summoned in mid-December for an interview with the SE in which he was threatened with a sentence of four years in prison for the dissemination of the videos he They witnessed the violent action of the repressors.
In addition, they extended threats to her parents and her sister, the mother of a little girl, telling her that they could lose their jobs if she did not agree to collaborate with them. Coerced by threats of prison and security for his family, the young man agreed to collaborate with the repressors as an informant, a decision he regretted shortly after.
As reported for Cuba Time, Basulto began to feel bad and have problems of conscience due to the decision made under pressure. The sleepless nights and the moral dilemma that overwhelmed him led him to resign from collaborating with the SE and to record conversations held with agents who continued to pressure him.
Catholic and recent graduate of the Bachelor's Degree in Tourism, the 23-year-old was taken to the Garrido unit of the SE on December 17. Agent “Cristian” came to look for him at his house, one of the main repressors of the protests in Camagüey and who, according to testimonies from protesters, was present in many of the interrogations.
There he was interrogated by a lieutenant colonel, tall, skinny and with gray hair, in the presence of agent Cristian and agent “Milena”, who deals with university students in the province.
The lieutenant colonel told him that 4 years in prison awaited him for his publications on social networks. The videos of Basulto's live performances on 11J went viral and exposed the unjustified violence of the regime. Not only did he share this content, but also the requests for freedom for those detained in the days after the demonstration.
At the end of the interrogation, the officer proposed that he collaborate with the SE, which he accepted by signing a document to free himself from the sentence, adopting the name that he usually used on social networks.
The first job they asked him to do was write an autobiography. Then they asked him to collect opinions from friends and family, concerned about the brewing of a new revolt, as well as among the university community.
“All this time I was preparing myself internally based on the knowledge of freedom. I was training and I was not at peace with the decision to agree to work with the SE,” the young man admitted to Cuba Time, an independent media with which he shared recordings of conversations with SE officers.
In addition to the SE repressors, Basulto received threats from the Rector of the University of Camagüey and deputy to the National Assembly, Santiago Lajes Choy, whom many testimonies point to as an accomplice of the SE that allows interrogations, threats and expulsions in the center of higher education that he directs.
Basulto's account of the events that occurred on 11J reinforces the perception of Cuban civil society who has seen how she was and is systematically repressed every time she raises her voice or shows her disagreement with the Cuban regime.
On June 11, the young man got up in the morning and saw the news of the first citizen protests in Cuba in independent media and social networks. Then, he took his bicycle and went to the vicinity of the Casino.
There, a march was planned to the Avellaneda police station, which was cut off by uniformed and plainclothes repressors. Surrounded by police, the protesters chanted the national anthem and chanted slogans. There were verbal confrontations with the police, never physical, he said.
However, at one point, the repressors pushed an elderly man who fell to the pavement (there is a video recording), which unleashed the confrontation between civilians and police. Basulto witnessed the violence of the repressors, who cowardly beat the elderly, women and young people, to which he testified through his networks.
After being seized by fear due to threats and coercion, and moved by his conscience, Basulto decided to completely disassociate himself from the SE's recruitment attempt. Cuba Time He shared the recording in which he informed agent Milena of his resignation from continuing to collaborate with them. In the audio, the repressor is heard saying that this does not depend on her, but on her superiors.
Days later, Basulto was summoned on February 28 to the Immigration offices for an interview with agent “Lázaro” and Milena. A fragment of recording that will be released soon by the independent media includes the words of Lázaro informing the young man that resigning from the MININT is not a voluntary act.
“You already belong to the MININT. “You belong to us”, the Cuban political police officer is heard saying.
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