Ailex Marcano, mother of Cuban political prisoner Ángel Jesús Veliz Marcano, arrives in the USA.

Heartbroken, Marcano stated that her son is a hostage of the dictatorship and demanded the release of all political prisoners on the island.

Current affairs
CiberCuba Editorial

24/05/2024 - 6:57pm (GMT-5)

Ailex Marcano, the mother of the 11J prisoner Ángel Jesús Veliz Marcano, arrived in the United States this Friday in tears, fervently asking for the release of her son and all Cuban political prisoners.

"Freedom for the political prisoners, freedom for my son Ángel Jesús Veliz Marcano, down with the dictatorship, long live free Cuba," shouted at the top of her voice at Miami Airport, where the brave activist from Camagüey was greeted by friends and family.

Distraught, Marcano said that her son was a hostage of the dictatorship, while the Cubans at the airport assured her that she was "the strongest mother in Cuba" for the fight she has waged since then.July 11, 2021 protestsSo that justice is done for the young people imprisoned for protesting that day.

"Patria, life, and liberty," "Human rights for Cubans," expressed Marcano, who assured that now she will start to shout, because she will not be repressed, detained, or have her son psychologically tortured.

"Change of system, human rights, freedom for Cubans," said the activist, who later became emotionally unstable and had to be assisted at the airport.

Marcano stated that he was not entirely happy because his son was imprisoned in the dungeons of the dictatorship; and that he will not rest until his case is brought to the United Nations and the Vatican.

He ensures that his son, sentenced to six years for protesting on July 11 in Camagüey, asked him to raise his voice not only for him, but for all the political prisoners on the island.

Marcano has been an active voice on the island for the release of the 11J prisoners, and consequentlyShe was detained on numerous occasions and threatened.by the State Security.

In 2022, he raised his voice in Geneva to denounce the repression in Cuba against peaceful protesters and the subhuman conditions in the island's prisons.

That year, she was interviewed by the Vice President of the European Parliament, Dita Charanzová, to whom she recounted that her son was arrested at the age of 26 in the province of Camagüey. He was an athlete in the archery discipline, graduated as a Physical Education teacher, and always received the best evaluations as a teacher in school, she said.

Then he became self-employed and worked in restaurants and bars, with his documents updated, his license, his ONAT (Office of Tax Administration) card, but due to Covid-19, the Bar Seven where he worked was closed," he explained.

Before the protests, "my son and I were like ordinary citizens, we did not belong to any political or opposition organization, simply to the organizations that like all Cuban citizens we are obligated to belong to, such as the CDR (Committee for the Defense of the Revolution), FMC (Federation of Cuban Women) and in my case, the Cuban Workers' Union, but we never had any political affiliation or were affiliated with any opposition or dissident organization," explained the woman.

She remembered that the arbitrary detention of the young man took place on July 18 at his home, after a week of protests, and after they tricked her into leaving her house so she wouldn't witness the arrest.

Véliz Marcano was arrested for participating in the demonstrations, but he assures that he does not regret his involvement in the protests. "I feel free, (...) I have awakened," the young man has told his mother.