The State Security summoned the Cuban activist Anna Sofía Benítez Silvente, known on social media as Anna Bensi, to appear this Wednesday, March 25, at 2 PM at the PNR station 27 in Alamar, Havana. The 21-year-old announced the summons this Tuesday through a video.
The citation, signed by Lieutenant Colonel Edith Cala, identified as the instructor handling her mother's case, was not delivered directly to Anna Sofía but rather to a cousin who lives on the same floor of the building. According to the activist, a uniformed police officer insisted that the cousin sign the document.
The official reason given is a "statement taking" related to the case of her mother, Caridad "Cary" Silvente. However, Anna Sofía publicly dismissed it. "That's just a pretext." She also noted that the summons does not specify the capacity in which she is being called—witness, accused, or other—which she described as an additional procedural irregularity.
This is the first time that State Security has directly summoned Anna Sofía. The harassment began on March 10 and 11, when agents interrogated her mother for approximately two hours at a police station in Alamar. The pretext was that Cary had recorded and disseminated a video of the MININT sub-official Yoel Leodan Rabaza Ramos as he delivered a summons at her home. The authorities framed that action as a violation of Article 393 of the Cuban Penal Code, which penalizes the non-consensual dissemination of images or personal data with sentences ranging from two to five years in prison.
After the interrogation, Cary Silvente was placed under house arrest, prohibited from leaving the country, and required to hire a lawyer within five days. During the session, she was labeled a "bad mother" and warned that the process could take years. On March 18, she attended a second summons accompanied by her defense attorney, who submitted a request for dismissal to the prosecutor's office, which is still awaiting a response.
Meanwhile, Agent Kenia María Morales Larrea, who interrogated the mother, explicitly warned that Anna Sofía would also be summoned. Close friends like Shiorocio Sanz and Chío were called to police interviews described as pure threats, with the aim of pressuring them to persuade the activist to silence herself. Both Anna Sofía and her mother were temporarily without internet access after the initial interrogations.
Cuban authorities have labeled Anna Sofía as "counter-revolutionary" and "mercenary." In response, the activist has maintained a firm stance that "they will not silence me." Meanwhile, international organizations, independent journalists, and foreign governments are closely monitoring the case.
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