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The Cuban State Security summoned three protesters from the 11J in San Antonio de los Baños—Joel Díaz Hernández, Omar Hernández Calzadilla, and Miguel Díaz Sosa—to appear today before the Department of State Security (DSE), just one day after they posted a photo on social media demanding the freedom of another imprisoned comrade.
The complaint was made public by independent journalist José Raúl Gallego, who also shared a photograph of the official citation signed by Second Lieutenant of the National Revolutionary Police Yoreily López Guerrero, dated April 2.
The document, addressed to Joel Díaz Hernández, summons him before the DSE with the "purpose of: interview" and warns that if he fails to appear without a valid reason, he will face "a fine of 50 pesos or be charged with the offense of denial of assistance or disobedience."
The three were released in 2025 as part of the agreement negotiated between the Cuban regime, the Vatican, and the Biden Administration, which freed 553 inmates.
The immediate trigger for the summons was that on Wednesday the three posted a photo on social media asking for the release of Denis Hernández Ramírez, another protester from the 11J whose parole was revoked on March 25 due to his social media posts denouncing surveillance and harassment by State Security.
Gallego warned that the situation is "extremely concerning, as it was the same procedure used to revoke Denis just a week ago."
Denis Hernández Ramírez, sentenced to six years in prison for "outrage against authority" and "public disorder" following the protests of July 11 and 12, 2021, is the seventh documented case of former detainees from 11J returned to prison since January 2025.
The releases agreed upon with the Vatican did not imply amnesty or annulment of sentences, but rather revocable penitentiary benefits at any time—a mechanism that the regime has systematically used to keep the released individuals under control.
Citations take place on the same day that the regime announced the pardon of 2,010 prisoners, presented by the official newspaper Granma as a humanitarian and sovereign gesture in the context of Holy Week.
However, the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights confirmed that only 27 political prisoners have been released to date as part of the prior agreement with the Vatican, announced on March 12 with 51 promised releases.
Prisoners Defenders counts 1,214 political prisoners in Cuba as of the end of February, while Justicia 11J raises the number to at least 760, including 358 from the 11J movement.
The opposition figure José Daniel Ferrer accused the regime of using the pardon to escape the predicament it finds itself in, while journalist Gallego and other analysts emphasize the seriousness of the ongoing political imprisonments, as the Island's government attempts to buy time and deceive the world with "humanitarian" gestures.
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