U.S. Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart strongly condemned the death of the Cuban political prisoner Manuel de Jesús Guillén Esplugas, who reportedly fell victim to a beating by his guards.
"Assassins! The dictatorship in Cuba is solely responsible for the death of Manuel de Jesús Guillén Esplugas for the 'crime' of peacefully protesting on July 11. The days of the regime are numbered," Díaz-Balart stated on his social media.
In his message, the Cuban-American congressman once again held the Cuban regime accountable for its repressive actions and predicted a near end for them as the days go by and the inauguration of Donald Trump approaches.
"The unilateral concessions under the Biden-Harris Administration will come to an end soon. True accountability will arrive with the leadership of Donald Trump," Díaz-Balart warned the regime in Havana.
The Florida Republican shared in his message a tweet from the Cuban opposition leader, Rosa María Payá, coordinator of the Cuba Decide platform, who denounced and mourned the violent death of Guillén Esplugas, holding the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel and the Minister of the Interior, Major General Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, accountable for the death of the prisoner of conscience.
In mid-November, Díaz-Balart strongly criticized the policies of rapprochement towards the Cuban government and promised a change in the United States' approach under the new Trump administration.
On that occasion, the congressman reacted to the publication of a report by ADN Cuba regarding the death of Inoel Rodríguez Rodríguez, a young inmate in Cienfuegos, who, according to complaints from his family, died in Ariza prison after allegedly being beaten on the orders of the prison authorities.
"The report from Cuba about this young man who was tortured and killed simply for saying 'Homeland and Life' is horrifying. His torturers must be held accountable, and strong sanctions should be reinstated against the regime that abuses, incarcerates, and seeks to destroy those who dare to speak out against it," said the Cuban-American congressman on X (formerly Twitter).
Emphasizing the need for a tougher foreign policy towards the island, Díaz-Balart criticized President Joe Biden's administration for its efforts to appease the totalitarian regime that has been in power on the island for over 60 years.
"The days of appeasement that emboldened our adversaries under the Biden-Harris Administration are numbered. We will soon begin a new phase that will put an end to this Administration's policy of concessions," warned the congressman.
Days later, the Cuban-American politician outlined the strategies he believed Donald Trump would implement regarding the regimes in Cuba and Venezuela, stating that their leaders should be "nervous."
"There will be a dramatic change," assured Díaz-Balart. "It will not be tolerated for this regime to use all the means at its disposal to harm the United States and oppress its own people," he added in his message, making it clear that the Trump administration will implement a harder approach in its policies toward the Cuban regime.
This Sunday, activists and opposition organizations reported the murder of Guillén Esplugas, who was serving a sentence in the Combinado del Este prison in Havana after being accused of participating in and filming the historic and massive protests of July 11, 2021 (11J).
At 27 years old and residing in Old Havana, Guillén Esplugas was violently arrested in his home on the 17th of that year by State Security agents after he had shared videos on social media documenting his participation in the spontaneous protests. His case was included among the 554 political prisoners that the regime has detained for protesting on July 11.
In 2023, the young man had been incarcerated for over a year and a half, with no date set for his trial or any notification of the prosecution's request. His mother, Dania María Esplugas, submitted a second Habeas Corpus to the Provincial Court of Havana demanding his immediate release, after the first request had been dismissed.
The summary of Guillén Esplugas has been highlighted by opponents as an example of the human rights violations committed by the Cuban regime in cases related to the social unrest of July 11. His death adds to the 56 inmate deaths that have occurred in the past two years.
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