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The Cuban authorities released Osmani Heredia Delfín and Alexander Acosta, two of the protesters detained during the peaceful protests that took place last Thursday in the town of Baire, located in the municipality of Contramaestre, in Santiago de Cuba.
According to reports from independent journalists Yosmany Mayeta Labrada and José Luis Tan Estrada, Heredia was released after paying a fine of 3,000 pesos, while Acosta was also freed, although it has not been confirmed whether he was subjected to any financial penalties.
"Osmani Heredia Delfín has been released, with a fine of 3,000 pesos. Alexander Acosta is also free. Those who continue to be imprisoned for thinking differently remain." Mayeta Labrada wrote on Facebook, referring to the ongoing repression in Cuba.
The releases occurred after several days of complaints on social media, where relatives, neighbors, and activists demanded an end to the arbitrary detentions following the protests in Baire, which have already become popularly known as the "cacerolazo de Baire."
A community tired of blackouts and shortages
The protests on Thursday emerged during a blackout that lasted over thirty hours, when dozens of residents took to the streets banging pots and shouting “Freedom!” and “Down with Díaz-Canel!”. The demands also targeted the lack of food, drinking water, and basic services.
Videos shared on social media showcased the regime's swift repressive response, including internet cuts, deployed patrols, and the arrest of several protesters, among them pediatrician Erlis Sierra Gómez, who became one of the most visible faces of citizen discontent.
Erlis Sierra and Humberto Nieto, still detained and pressured
As Heredia and Acosta return to their homes, Sierra remains detained in Santiago de Cuba, where he was forced by state security to record a retraction video shared on social media under coercion.
"It doesn't take much analysis to notice that Erlis does not speak freely, but rather reads from a scripted line," denounced Mayeta Labrada, who has closely followed the case.
Her mother, Ania Gómez Leiva, was also briefly arrested after publicly demanding her son's release. “My son did not touch a cauldron nor did he assault anyone; he only asked for solutions for the people,” she said before being released.
Also, the activist Lucio Enríquez Nodarse confirmed the existence of the video of the nurse Humberto Nieto Sierra, who was detained for the same reasons, stating that it was recorded "under threats and coercion."
"The most striking thing is the phrase he repeats several times: 'This is not the way.' And right there is where we need to think, because that 'way,' the one they fear, is the street," wrote Nodarse.
The opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer, coordinator of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU) and now exiled from the island, demanded the immediate release of all those arrested during the protests in Baire and denounced that the regime aims to "instill fear in those who dare to demand rights."
"The persecution against the protesters continues. It is very necessary to support the families of the detained and persecuted," Ferrer wrote on Facebook.
The opposition leader emphasized that these arrests "reveal the terror of the tyranny in the face of a people who have decided to raise their voice."
Solidarity and resistance
Social media has become the only space where residents of Baire and other Cubans both on the island and abroad can express solidarity with those who have been detained.
Despite the regime's attempts to impose silence, the release of Heredia and Acosta is seen as a small breath of fresh air amidst the fear and uncertainty experienced by the residents of Baire.
The images shared by independent journalists and testimonies from family members show the human face of a community that, despite the fear, continues to demand dignity.
“Tyranny is afraid, which is why it punishes and fines. But the people continue to speak, continue to record, and continue to denounce,” wrote Tan Estrada in one of his posts.
Meanwhile, the hope of the neighbors remains that Erlis Sierra and the other detained protesters regain their freedom unconditionally.
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