Amelia Calzadilla reveals harassment and manipulation by the regime upon leaving Cuba with her children: "They are despicable beings."

The Cuban activist Amelia Calzadilla reported that she was the victim of surveillance and harassment operations by State Security when she left Cuba with her three children. In a powerful testimony published on social media, the young woman directly accused the repressor known as "El Denis" and other agents who followed her to the airport.

"I was sent photos in an attempt to blackmail, pressure, or intimidate me," she stated. "If you look at the photos, you will see that next to my children and me, there was a man in a blue or green jacket... who was constantly separating me from the group." She asserted that this man was the same one who had detained her in June 2023 and that he had visited her home several times to intimidate her. "I don’t know why, but that day this man along with others from State Security followed me to the airport."

Calzadilla explained that the people around her "acted friendly with me and the children" to create an illusion of closeness and then used manipulated images against her. "I suppose to later build a theater of discredit." She said she tried to behave normally in front of her children, even though all the airport staff noticed what was happening. "I tried to ensure they didn't feel scared and to avoid putting on a show in front of them."

"They are truly despicable and low beings. They inflict all kinds of psychological harm with cruelty," she denounced. She added, "The naivety I had in Cuba stayed in Cuba. Open fire with everything you've got because I won’t tire or give up; you’ll have to kill me. And to their cockroaches, I repeat that they can threaten all they want, I know what I'm doing and what I want."

The testimony of Calzadilla was supported by the Cuban activist Osmani Pardo Guerra, who reported a similar experience alongside his wife. “What they did to Amelia Calzadilla happened to me and my wife on May 8, 2023. The same State Security repressor, El Denis, along with other repressors, were at the airport and took us out of the line while filming and taking photos until we boarded the plane.”

His brother, Osmar Pardo Guerra, elaborated on the complaint: “What Amelia Calzadilla experienced, my brother Osmani Pardo Guerra and his wife also went through... they were pulled from the boarding line while being filmed and photographed, as if they were criminals. All of this happened right in front of me and hundreds of onlookers who were wondering why they were doing this.”

Osmar explained that his family has been the target of a systematic persecution for being different: “From threatening phone calls and constant surveillance in front of our homes, to arbitrary interrogations and psychological harassment against our mother, a cancer patient. They have tried to silence us, suffocate us, dehumanize us.”

"But we will not be silenced. Because what has been done to us is not forgotten. And because we will continue to denounce every act of repression... My full support goes to all the families of political prisoners and those persecuted who, like mine, have suffered humiliations, abuses, outrages, rejection, and both physical and verbal mistreatment simply for wanting a free and just country."

In Calzadilla's post, dozens of people left messages of support, but new testimonials also emerged confirming the recurrence of these types of operations. One of the most striking was from the activist Thais Franco:

“They did the same to me—photos, videos, they separated me from my son to record me, intimidate me, and remind me that I had two children left in Cuba. Thank God you were able to leave with all your babies; many of us weren’t that fortunate. The dictatorship is a murderous and diabolical machine. I’m so sorry that you had to go through such a torturous moment with your little ones. No mother should have to endure that.”

A story marked by persecution and resistance

Amelia Calzadilla left Cuba in November 2023 with her children, and shortly after it was revealed that her husband was already in Spain waiting for her. The departure was preceded by arrests, judicial pressures, and surveillance.

In January of this year, she reported that she was banned from returning to the country. She was also targeted by a defamation campaign that attempted to falsely link her to a rally of repudiation against the Damas de Blanco.

In April, she revealed that she nearly died during her third childbirth due to medical negligence in Cuba.

Currently, she lives in Spain, where she works and continues her activism through the group Civic Freedom. Last February, she participated in a meeting with the head of the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Cuba, Mike Hammer.

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