The journalist and director of 14ymedio, activist Yoani Sánchez, published a video on Facebook this Sunday in which she documented how a State Security agent, dressed in civilian clothes and with his face covered, prevented her from leaving the lower part of her building in Havana without presenting any legal order or identifying himself.
In the video, Sánchez directly confronted the officer in front of the camera.
"This is in the lower levels of my building and I have come across this civilian dressed in plain clothes who has not identified himself, has his face covered, seems very afraid of being seen, and claims that he will not let me leave," claims the journalist.
When Sánchez asked who ordered the measure, the agent replied that he could not say and implied that she already knew.
"Can you tell me? And who orders that?" Sánchez asked.
"I don't know," replied the agent. The journalist then directly rebuked him, "You are violating my rights."
Sánchez emphasized that there is no legal basis for the obstruction.
"I am a citizen who has not committed any crimes, is not being judged in a court, does not have a restraining order or house arrest. So, why won’t you let me leave?" she shot back at the officer.
And he added: "In other words, you can be a bully. You can be a delinquent. A neighborhood criminal."
To which the civil agent replied with a simple, "Uh-huh."
In addition to the agent with the covered face, Yoani Sánchez mentioned that besides that individual, there were two other women who do not belong to her community and who allegedly were part of the surveillance operation set up in front of her building.
This is not the first time they have prevented Yoani Sánchez from leaving her home.
On January 28, Sánchez was detained by four agents -two with badges from the Department of State Security- at the intersection of Avenida Ayestarán and Calle Primera while she was heading to a diplomatic reception at the residence of the chief of mission of the United States, Mike Hammer, to mark the beginning of the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Her husband, the journalist Reinaldo Escobar, was intercepted while trying to exit through another door.
On that occasion, the agents escorted her back to her home.
On that same day, opponents such as Berta Soler, Ángel Moya, Manuel Cuesta Morúa, and Marthadela Tamayo faced similar blockades.
The pattern is part of a documented repressive escalation that took place during the first quarter of 2026.
The Inter-American Press Association, of which Sánchez is a board member, has formally denounced this escalation.
The official spokesperson Humberto López stated in February that there is no persecution of opposition members in Cuba, a claim that contradicts the systematically documented cases.
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