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After being interrogated this week by State Security and released with a warning letter, the young Cuban Selena Lambert Ortega continues to be a victim of repression from the political police for having launched a survey on social media to gauge political preferences between Marco Rubio and Miguel Díaz-Canel for the presidency of Cuba.
Selena, a 24-year-old manicurist, is already referred to by many Cubans as "The Girl of the Symbolic Elections" after she published a virtual survey on Monday asking people to vote for one of the candidates. Hours later, she was summoned for questioning by the SE, which released her the same day but forced her to delete the survey, which had declared U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio the winner.
This Thursday, the communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada confirmed that the young woman was expelled from the apartment she was renting with her partner in Santiago de Cuba, due to pressures from the political police on the property owners.
Selena "once again pays a high price for thinking, questioning, and exercising her right to express herself," Mayeta stated.
Residents of the Veguita de Palo neighborhood, where the young woman and her boyfriend lived, confirmed to the communicator that both had to leave the area. "They removed her out of fear. They said having her there could bring them trouble," stated a person who requested to remain anonymous.
"There were no formal explanations: only the fear, the imposed silence, and the pressure that can be felt in many neighborhoods of Santiago de Cuba today," Mayeta stated, noting that the young woman had to move in with some relatives and "start from scratch, both personally and financially."
He also explained that Selena has not granted him an interview "for security reasons," and because of this, her "story comes through close people who support her and want to see her succeed."
Mayeta urged citizen solidarity by supporting Selena in her work as a professional manicurist.
"Book your appointment at +53 63814154 and support her work. Every call is a show of support. Every appointment is a helping hand," she wrote. "Today, supporting her business is much more than financial assistance: it is an act of companionship, collective protection, and civic resistance. Helping her is defending the right to undertake without fear; it is betting on a young woman who did not ask for privileges or the spotlight, only for the opportunity to work, live in peace, and move forward."
He warned that “this case exposes an uncomfortable truth: fear and intimidation no longer only pursue opinions; they also punish the life, work, and livelihood of young Cubans who do not engage in political activism, do not conspire, and do not engage in politics, but think, question, and earn a living with dignity.”
The magazine Alas Tensas also spoke out regarding the new act of harassment against the young woman.
"The expulsion of Selena is not an isolated incident. In Cuba, landlords are threatened by the political police to evict tenants who are considered problematic due to their political views or dissenting activities. This has been a common practice aimed at silencing and pressuring opponents of the regime," the feminist publication reported.
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