The Cuban political figure Yeilis Torres Cruz made a desperate plea for help this Monday through a live broadcast on Facebook, after a fire in her apartment building in Ohio destroyed all her belongings and left her and her baby homeless.
The fire started in the apartment directly above yours. The flames and the water used to extinguish them destroyed all of their clothing.
A second short video shows the exterior of the two-story red brick building with second-floor windows from which smoke is billowing, the walls blackened by soot, and debris scattered throughout the yard.
Torres Cruz and her daughter emerged physically unscathed. The girl was taken by her godparents while her mother managed the emergency outside the building, where firefighters were still working.
"I and the girl are well. The girl is ready for the godparents who came to pick her up," she said during the broadcast, visibly affected.
The firefighters prevented her from entering the apartment with the baby due to the risk of collapse. "Pieces of the ceiling are falling down," she explained tearfully.
Torres Cruz attributed the incident to the irresponsibility of a neighbor: "It was due to their irresponsibility that this happened. Because of the amount of drugs they are involved with."
Among the material losses are personal documents that were soaked by extinguishing water, clothing, and diapers for the baby. "Everything got wet," she recounted.
The activist emphasized that she is completely alone in that state, without close family: "I am here alone with my baby. I don’t ask anyone for help. I have always managed on my own, but I need assistance."
At one point during the broadcast, she acknowledged that she had never publicly asked for help before: "I have never been one to ask for help or to go on any social network asking for help. But honestly, I am desperate now. I've lost everything."
Torres Cruz shared her phone number and asked her followers to spread the message for support. The firefighters informed her that they could guide her on temporary housing and provided her with a reference number to call in Spanish.
Yeilis Torres Cruz is a member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) and a former prosecutor and judge whose professional title was invalidated by the Cuban regime.
She became known in May 2021 when she broadcasted live her confrontation with the government spokesperson Humberto López, who allegedly attacked her in the street.
She was arrested three days later on charges of "assault" and remained in prison for nine months without trial, until being released on March 4, 2022.
During her detention at the police station of 100 and Aldabó, Torres Cruz reported having suffered a sexual assault by two men under police custody. In April 2022, she was cleared of criminal charges with an administrative fine of 3,000 pesos.
In May 2022, she escaped from Cuba on a raft with 16 other people, was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard, and spent seven months detained at Guantanamo Naval Base.
After a medical emergency, she was transferred to Florida, where on March 28, 2023, an immigration court granted her political asylum. Since then, she has been living in Ohio, where the fire that left her with nothing occurred about three years after receiving that protection.
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