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Agents of State Security and the Police arrested several Cuban opposition members this Wednesday in Havana as they were heading to the funeral of the Lady in White and former political prisoner Yolanda Santana Ayala, who passed away early in the morning from respiratory failure.
Berta Soler Hernández, leader of the Ladies in White; Marieta Martínez and María Mercedes Benítez, members of that opposition movement, and Ángel Moya Acosta, a former political prisoner, were on their way to the funeral home located in La Palma, in the Arroyo Naranjo municipality, to give a final farewell to Santana when they were intercepted by repressive forces of the regime around 10:30 in the morning.
At the time of the arrest, Soler spoke on the phone with fellow Dama de Blanco María Cristina Labrada, who heard her say, "how is this possible, they are going to the funeral home," before the call was cut off, according to a report published on Facebook.
After being released, Soler stated to the independent media Cubanet that they had been arrested by two police patrols and a car from the Ministry of the Interior on Infanta Street, and were taken, separately, to the 4th Police Unit in Cerro and to the Aguilera station in 10 de Octubre.
In this last unit, Soler recounted, she was taken into a conference room, where a political police agent warned her that she would not be allowed to attend the wake dressed in white, the very color that represents the well-known women's movement protesting for political prisoners in Cuba.
“The state security henchman entered immediately and told me that I was dressed in white, which is a form of provocation, and that I cannot wear white to my sister Yolanda Santana Ayala's funeral,” Soler reported.
In response to the repressive actions, the opposition member stated: “I never do this, but my goal is to get there, and yes, I am going to take off the white clothes and go there, because in the end being a Lady in White is something I hold within, and it’s not just the clothes that define whether I am or am not a Lady in White.”
In another post on Facebook, Labrada also reacted to the arbitrary repressive measures of the regime: “[Soler] will emerge dressed in a different color, without losing our ideas and principles,” and added that the goal is to support Yolanda Santana’s family and “see her one last time.”
"Dressed in any color, we are and will be Ladies in White, proud of our deceased sister. Rest in peace, Yoly, may you have eternal light, and wherever you are, know that we will always remember you," emphasized Labrada in her post, which she accompanied with a photo of herself alongside the late Santana and Soler.
Yolanda Santana Ayala passed away early Tuesday morning at the "Julio Trigo" Hospital in Havana due to a respiratory failure. Her death marks a significant loss for the dissent and human rights movement in Cuba.
The body of Santana is being laid to rest at Arroyo Funeral Home (formerly Mauline) in La Palma, Arroyo Naranjo.
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