A former member of UNPACU dies in police custody in Santiago de Cuba.

Juan Eralys Cayamo, former member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), died in police custody in Santiago de Cuba in the early hours of August 16, after being arrested the day before at his home.

Journalist Yosmany Mayeta reported on Facebook that Cayamo, known as "Olugo," was arrested by the police on charges that family and friends have reported as false, specifically for "drug possession."

Content Warning: This article contains descriptions of police violence and mentions unverified allegations related to the death of an individual in custody. The content may be disturbing for some readers. We advise discretion when continuing to read. Additionally, it is noted that the allegations presented are under investigation and have not yet been confirmed by official sources.

According to witnesses, the violent arrest took place on 3rd Street in the Veguita de Galo neighborhood around 6:30 in the evening, when the police burst into his home and struck him several times, both inside the house and on the street.

After the arrest, he was taken to the Criminal Operations Unit of Reparto Versalles, where, according to official reports, he died of a heart attack before being taken to a hospital.

However, Mayeta emphasized that the neighbors and close ones of Cayamo expressed doubts about the official version of his death.

One of them, who preferred to remain anonymous, stated: “They say he died of a heart attack, but I don’t rule out that the police killed him from the many blows they gave him.”

That suspicion is shared by other acquaintances, who claim that it was never proven that the former member of UNPACU was arrested for drug possession and that his death could have been a consequence of police brutality.

"That guy wasn't into that; his thing was religion and he was against the regime, but not drugs," said a young woman who had a close relationship with the deceased.

A person close to Cayamo reported that the beatings began after he shouted slogans against the Revolution. "They were brutal with him, they hit him even inside the Patrol, I wouldn't rule out that they killed him in Operations," he added.

Although Cayamo had stopped being an active part of UNPACU several years ago, he maintained an open stance of dissent on the streets.

Her death, under suspicious circumstances, has generated outrage among her friends and neighbors, as well as on social media, where they are demanding that the authorities in Santiago de Cuba clarify the events with solid evidence.

Leonardo Mesa reported the incident on social media and said that Cayamo was “beaten in a police car until exhausted, taken for medical procedures, and two hours later they report his death as ‘a heart attack’, this is how this communist dictatorship operates.”

For his part, Lázaro Mireles pointed out on Facebook: "When I think of the murder of this UNPACU activist, I think of José Daniel Ferrer, of his necessary freedom, I think of Cuba, of the people who are crying out for hope, I think of the hundreds of political prisoners who deserve to be with their families."

Despite the testimonies from witnesses claiming that the former member of the UNPACU was beaten, Facebook profiles aligned with the establishment and the regime insist that there were no beatings, yet another piece of evidence of information manipulation on social media.

Elizabeth Ferrer stated: "I want to make it clear that there was no beating or medical negligence; all necessary attention was provided during her critical moment."

The same message, without modification and in an uncritical manner, has been repeated by several users on social media, in clear alignment with the regime.

However, the crimes of the Cuban government against opponents, political prisoners, and the penal population in general continue.

Recently, Cuban activists warned about the threats against the independent artist and political prisoner Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara in the Guanajay prison in the province of Artemisa.

In a video published on the social network X by Norges Rodríguez, CEO and co-founder of the digital media YucaByte, art curator Claudia Genlui Hidalgo reported that, just when she was speaking with him over the phone, a guard threatened to hang up the call.

The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights reported the death of an inmate in Cuba due to a virus and physical and psychological abuse suffered by the prisoner at the hands of his jailers.

"On July 31, common prisoner Ariel López La Torre, 36 years old, passed away in the number 6 section of the provincial prison of Kilo 7, located in the province of Camagüey," said OCDH on the social network X.