The Cuban regime once again used children to carry out a repudiation act in front of the house of José Daniel Ferrer, the current headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and the site of a police raid on Tuesday that ended with the arrest of the opposition leader.
On Wednesday morning, a crowd of schoolchildren in uniforms, teachers, authorities, and State Security agents in civilian clothing marched in front of the UNPACU headquarters in the Altamira neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba, chanting "Fidel Fidel!" and shouting "long live" the "revolution."
“Communist march in front of UNPACU headquarters. It's happening now, they are using teachers and students,” indicated on social media by José Daniel Ferrer's sister, the activist Ana Belkis Ferrer García, sharing the video of the march recorded by a neighbor of the opposition leader.
Mobilized without parental consent, the students were taken from their schools to participate in one of the most detestable rituals of the dictatorship: the abominable “acts of repudiation” orchestrated against dissidents and Cuban activists who dare to raise their voices to denounce the totalitarian regime.
A systematic and shameful use of minors for political purposes
The use of children in official propaganda acts is not an isolated incident, but rather a recurring practice of the Cuban regime. In December 2023, the dictatorship mobilized schoolchildren to organize a "revolutionary reaffirmation" event in front of the home of activist Diasniurka Salcedo Verdecia.
In January of that same year, he once again placed minors in the forefront to recreate Fidel Castro's arrival in Havana in 1959, and in 2020 it had already been reported that the official acts of rectification also used minors as pawns in activities that were clearly political.
The use of minors in these contexts not only represents a manipulation of childhood for ideological purposes, but also a serious violation of children's rights and a demonstration of systematic indoctrination in Cuban schools.
Previous reports from CiberCuba have documented how the regime uses museums dedicated to Fidel Castro and school activities to instill a political narrative from an early age.
Uncompromising repression and threats to families
The event on Wednesday was particularly reprehensible due to its close temporal proximity to the violent operation the day before, when Ferrer was detained along with his wife, the activist Nelva Ismaray Ortega Tamayo, and their minor child.
According to complaints from the family, the authorities threatened Ortega Tamayo with taking away custody of the minor if he continued his humanitarian work and political activism.
The cynicism of organizing a political march with children right in front of the house where just hours earlier an opponent had been violently arrested, while direct threats were being made against his family, is a clear indication of the level of dehumanization that the regime's repression has reached.
The lack of scruples and dignity among those who orchestrate and carry out these acts, dragging even innocent children into their schemes, is an alarming sign of how the dictatorship recognizes no moral boundaries in its relentless pursuit of control.
Political context and international condemnation
José Daniel Ferrer had been released in January of this year as part of an agreement mediated by the Vatican and the Biden administration, after nearly four years in prison. However, his freedom was recently revoked on the grounds that he violated the conditions of his release by continuing his activism.
Since then, Ferrer had resumed his community work from the headquarters of UNPACU in Santiago de Cuba, where he provided food to vulnerable individuals. Repression against him and his surroundings intensified in recent weeks, with follow-ups, surveillance, acts of repudiation, and arbitrary detentions.
Various international organizations, as well as the government of the United States, have strongly condemned the new detention of Ferrer and the systematic harassment against his family and surroundings.
Filed under:
