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The Tunera opposition member Taimir García reported this Saturday that State Security threatened her with serious consequences if she meets with U.S. diplomat Mike Hammer.
“Today, I have been threatened by State Security that if I receive a visit from the U.S. Ambassador, our friend Mike Hammer, at my home, I will face serious problems. These threats came quickly, and I have been under surveillance and surrounded since early hours,” reported the outspoken politician on Facebook.
García was released last May after serving five years in prison for peacefully protesting against the abuses of state inspectors in Las Tunas.
This Sunday, the U.S. government urged the Cuban regime to cease its interference with the diplomatic work of the chargé d'affaires at its embassy in Havana, Mike Hammer, following the recent repudiation event he was subjected to in Camagüey.
“The illegitimate Cuban regime must immediately cease its repressive acts of sending individuals to interfere with the diplomatic work of Chargé d'Affaires Hammer and the members of the Embassy team. Our diplomats will continue to meet with the Cuban people, despite the regime's failed intimidation tactics,” stated the U.S. Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs on X.
The incident occurred on Saturday at the Hotel Santa María, located in Plaza del Gallo in Camagüey, where Hammer was confronted by a crowd mobilized by local authorities.
The verbal aggression occurred during a widespread blackout that left the historic center of the city in darkness.
Witnesses to the incident recorded the insults directed at the diplomat, including "Donald Trump's puppet," "imperialist," "murderer," and "get out of Camagüey."
The videos were disseminated by journalist Mario J. Pentón and activists Irma Lidia Broek and José Raúl Gallego.
One day earlier, Hammer had been the target of a similar incident in the city of Trinidad, where a group of people insulted him outside the San Francisco de Paula Church after a meeting with the priest and activist José Conrado Rodríguez.
The diplomat then stated that those hurling insults "do not represent the Cuban people" and asserted that his visit aims to meet "everyday Cubans and listen to their aspirations for a better Cuba."
The new act of repudiation in Camagüey has reignited criticism of the harassment tactics employed by the Cuban regime against opponents, journalists, and now foreign diplomats.
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