Relatives of young Cubans involved in the digital project "Fuera de la Caja" reported that they are being intimidated by State Security agents, describing it as an attempt to pressure political content creators who criticize the government from within the island.
In an audio shared on social media, the father of Amanda Beatriz Andrés Navarro, a member of the group, recounted that two agents from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) were waiting for him at his workplace to warn him about the activities of his daughter and other young people involved in the project.
"They want to imprison us, and now they are using our families to threaten us," said the young woman as she described her father's encounter with the officers.
According to the testimony of their family member, the agents told them that the young people would be "committing offenses, inciting constitutional disorder and engaging in delinquency," and that they could be imprisoned if they continue their activities.
The father asserted that he responded to the officers by defending the boys and their right to express themselves.
"Those young people are simply engaging in educational work. As a new generation, they have every right to think differently, and they are not committing any crime," he stated. He also expressed his pride in them and reiterated that no country should have prisoners of conscience or political prisoners.
"That is what living in freedom is about, defending convictions without needing to have the same ones," Amanda Beatriz added after sharing the audio. She also denounced that in Cuba "we lack a great deal of freedom" and that these reprisals are proof of that.
Who are the young people from "Fuera de la Caja"?
The project "Out of the Box" consists of four young individuals from Havana: Amanda Beatriz Andrés Navarro (20 years old), Abel Alejandro Andrés Navarro (22), Mauro Reigosa Pérez (20), and Karel Daniel Hernández Bosques (20). Based in the Cerro municipality, they produce political content on social media where they analyze the country's reality and promote public debate and critical thinking.
According to what they have explained in interviews, the aim of their initiative is to promote a civic culture based on individual freedom and independent thinking, in a political context where public debate is often restricted.
Young people define themselves as liberals or libertarians and advocate for the necessity of structural changes in Cuba, with greater economic freedom, respect for individual rights, and a society open to political debate.
A new generation that speaks from social media
The group is part of a new generation of political content creators in Cuba, young individuals who have found in the Internet a space to express criticisms about the country's situation, characterized by blackouts, inflation, shortages, and low wages.
According to a report from the Spanish newspaper El País, many of these influencers are just over 20 years old and use platforms like Instagram or YouTube to openly discuss corruption, censorship, food shortages, and the challenges of living on the island.
Amid the severe economic crisis that Cuba is experiencing, these creators have begun to emerge as one of the most visible faces of the young dissent within the country, although this also exposes them to surveillance and pressure from the authorities.
Pressure and risk of reprisals
The members of "Fuera de la Caja" have acknowledged that State Security has conducted visits to identify them and warn them about the consequences of their activities, which they view as a form of intimidation.
In Cuba, regulations such as Decree-Law 370 and Decree-Law 35 allow for the sanctioning of internet publications deemed contrary to the constitutional order, a legal framework that human rights organizations have criticized for enabling the persecution of dissent on social media.
Despite the risks, young people assert that they will continue to speak publicly about the reality of the country.
Meanwhile, the testimony of the father who reported the threats reflects the personal and familial cost that speaking out can have in Cuba, where pressures are not always directed solely at activists but also at those around them.
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