The elderly Cuban Héctor Julio Cedeño Negrín, who was arrested violently on Wednesday on Monte Street for holding a sign that said “Down with the dictatorship”, in protest against the oppression of his humble condition as a street vendor, was ultimately detained for 12 hours at the Dragones station, although the authorities did not bring charges against him.
In an interview with Cubanet, 71-year-old Cedeño Negrín provided a poignant account of the events that took place this Wednesday and shared other details about his life.
The Cuban, who is a veteran trade unionist and independent journalist with a history of opposing the government, explained that he currently makes a living selling sweets at the intersection of Monte Street and Suárez Street because he does not have a pension.
She buys sweets wholesale and then sells them retail to make some extra money.
He recounts that he started by storing the carts and tables of the street vendors at his home, as many of them live far away, until he himself decided to take a cart to buy sweets and sell them.
He pointed out that his 93-year-old mother lives in the East, and he tries to help his sister so that she can take care of her, as the elderly woman only receives 1,070 pesos. "We have to fight," he concluded.
Regarding what happened this week, he suspected that the inspectors were coming for him, and that's why he prepared a sign that said: "Down with the dictatorship." This was indeed the case, and when he refused to leave the place, he was thrown out by "the henchmen."
"It was filled with people. I had a sign... they tried to force me into the police car, but I climbed onto the step of the car and kept shouting, I froze and they couldn't get me in. They carried me by force and shoved me inside the vehicle,” he recounted.
He detailed that he entrusted his cart to a girl to take care of it because it had thousands of pesos in lollipops, peanuts, mint candies, and other treats.
“They took me to the police station. There they yelled at me, they didn't hit me, but they did threaten me, they told me I was a mercenary, but well, what I'm doing is fighting for my life here. I have no help, I have to fight,” the elderly man pointed out.
He stated that he was detained from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. and that he was interviewed by an individual named "Castillo."
"I told him that the same police would be the ones to provoke a social explosion because there is so much persecution against the people that they are not allowed to live,” he recounts telling the oppressor.
Héctor Julio Cedeño says that he does not understand the ongoing harassment against the small vendors on Monte Street, people who just want to get ahead amid the harsh realities of life in Cuba.
"We have people in charge, who are an assembly of fat, obese individuals", noted the elderly man, who added that it would be fair to "pursue and crack down, instead of on street vendors, on drug dealers, thieves, pickpockets, those who are real criminals."
“I want to create a union of street vendors to fight for them because they are highly persecuted,” emphasized Cedeño Negrín, who states that for years he has been unable to work as an independent journalist due to a lack of resources.
Years ago, they took away his laptop, and all he has is a 2G phone.
Regarding his origins as an opponent of the regime, he recounts that since he was young, he listened to "The Voice of the Americas." He says that a brother of his was brainwashed and became a member of the Communist Party, but not him; he was like the black sheep.
On September 27, 1982, he was arrested for the first time for "public disorder" after sabotaging a party organized by the Committee, which was the party of the informants. His behavior led him to spend the first six days in the Combinado del Este.
In recent decades, he was part of several organizations or attempts to oppose the government. He states that he was a member of the "Comisión Cuba," which aimed to guide people in legalizing their organizations, an effort that he notes was later taken up again in another project by Marta Beatriz Roque.
He also had an organization called the Christian Trade Union of Cuba, but he noted that it later dissolved. In his modest home, he also houses the Reinaldo Arenas Library.
In summary, a 71-year-old man who has spent decades refusing to adhere to the dictates of the Cuban regime now finds himself subjected to constant harassment from those who leave no room for him to survive, at a stage in his life where all he wants is to endure.
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