The protest in Río Cauto, Granma, for the arbitrary detention of the Cuban mother Mayelín Carrasco Álvarez, experienced tense moments as local residents confronted the regime's repressive forces directly.
In a video recently shared, a crowd can be seen demanding explanations in front of a police cordon that included high-ranking officials from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) and the National Revolutionary Police (PNR), as well as plainclothes agents recording the protesters with their phones.
The protesters, mostly women, confronted the presence of security forces, shouting “No one is inciting us here, we all have the same needs!”, making it clear that their protest is not manipulated, but rather driven by desperation and hunger.
One of the most tense moments occurred when a young Cuban, who was directly confronting a lieutenant colonel from MININT, turned to the crowd and asked in a firm voice: “What crime have I committed?” In unison, the crowd responded: “None!”
The young woman, instead of being intimidated by the threats from the officials, continued to demand answers regarding the situation of Mayelín Carrasco Álvarez, the mother of three children who was arrested on March fifth after peacefully protesting in the Ángel Frías square.
With determination, the protesters demanded: “Explain to the people why Mayelín is in prison! Mayelín did nothing!” The anxiety among colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors, and members of the National Special Brigade (BEN) of the MININT (known as Black Berets) was evident, as was the tension among authorities and other plainclothes enforcers who roamed the scene speaking on their mobile phones.
As the tension grew, more neighbors joined the protest, expressing their frustration with phrases like: “We all have these problems here, so let them take us all then!”. The deployment of the feared Black Berets revealed the government's fear that the situation could spiral even more out of control.
The video shows how the plainclothes repressors, in addition to recording the protesters, attempted to identify the leaders of the demonstration for future reprisals. However, the community remained steadfast in their demand for justice and freedom for Carrasco Álvarez.
After her detention, Mayelín was transferred by the political police from Río Cauto to the city of Bayamo, where she is at a MININT facility. During an interrogation, she fainted and required medical attention, raising greater concern among her loved ones about her health status and the treatment she received.
So far, the Cuban regime has not made any official statements regarding the situation of the detained mother or the growing wave of protests in Río Cauto. Meanwhile, the population remains in a state of struggle, demonstrating that the frustration and despair over the crisis in Cuba have reached a point of no return.
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