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The United States Embassy in Cuba has joined the call of many for the liberation and respect of the human rights of two young individuals linked to the project El 4tico in Holguín: Ernesto Ricardo Medina and Kamil Zayas Pérez.
The youths were detained this Friday in Holguín during an operation carried out between six and seven in the morning, according to a report shared by the platform Ciudadanía y Libertad on the social network X.
The organization identified those arrested as Medina and Zayas Pérez and stated that they were transferred to the Criminal Instruction headquarters of the province, known as "Everybody Sings."
Ciudadanía y Libertad described that center as a place with “repeated reports” of torture, violent interrogations, and degrading treatment, referring to it as “the Villa Marista of Holguín.”
During the operation, the complaint states that agents took computers, phones, cameras, and work equipment that the young people used to "record and document their work."
In the house remained Doris Santiesteban Batista along with the couple's youngest daughter, "in a situation of absolute vulnerability" after the operation.
In its message, Ciudadanía y Libertad stated that these types of actions would not be “normal legal procedures,” but rather part of a pattern of “punishment, intimidation, and silencing” against young people who exercise their right to express themselves and create independently.
The platform urged Cuban civil society, the diaspora, and international human rights organizations to "make the case visible" and demand guarantees for the physical and legal integrity of the detainees.
The activist Amelia Calzadilla had previously reported the repressive actions against young people linked to the project, after police officers showed up at the home where they produce and disseminate content; the complaint was shared through a video circulated on social media.
The project El 4tico shared that video and numerous activists offered their solidarity; in the recording, a police officer can be heard saying: “You have a search warrant. You must open and allow us to enter.”
The text indicates that it was a group of at least four officers and that one displayed a document that "allegedly" corresponded to the search warrant.
El 4tico is a project known on social media for its videos analyzing and critiquing sociopolitical issues regarding Cuban reality, and for “deconstructing official narratives” through communicational arguments and historical elements.
The case is set against a national context marked by blackouts, inflation, migration, and social discontent, where initiatives of this nature reopen the debate on freedoms of expression and creation in Cuba.
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