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Yoan de la Cruz, the young man who livestreamed the first images of the social explosion on July 11, 2021 in Cuba, was arrested again this Saturday in San Antonio de los Baños, according to sources close to the political prisoner.
The activist Adelth Bonne alerted through Facebook: "At this moment, the police are at the home of the released political prisoner Yoan De La Cruz. We still don't know the reason for their presence, but there are fears that it could be a revocation."
A source close to the family confirmed the arrest to the independent newspaper 14ymedio and specified that during the detention "several items were seized, including perfumes, money, a phone, a computer, etc."
So far, according to 14ymedio, "it is not known under what accusation he was detained or if the authorities have formally informed the family about his situation."
De la Cruz became a symbol of July 11th by being the one who broadcast the protests live on Facebook from San Antonio de los Baños, which spread to dozens of Cuban cities.
Its broadcast showed Cubans peacefully advancing towards the municipal government headquarters chanting "Yes we can," and it quickly went viral, being rebroadcast by numerous YouTube channels.
He was arrested on July 23, 2021, twelve days after the protests. He spent his first 20 days in Guanajay and was then transferred to the Melena del Sur prison in Mayabeque, where he remained almost isolated.
The charges against him included encouraging protesters to denigrate Miguel Díaz-Canel and Raúl Castro, and to undermine the country's social economic order. The prosecution had initially requested eight years in prison, but in March 2022 he was sentenced to six.
In May 2022, Yoan de la Cruz was released from prison with a subsidiary sentence of five years of house arrest. During his incarceration, he reported mistreatment and humiliations in the Melena del Sur prison.
The new arrest follows the documented pattern of revocations of parole for those released from imprisonment after the 11J protests. The most recent case was that of Denis Hernández Ramírez, also from San Antonio de los Baños, returned to prison on March 24, 2026 after posting on social media about harassment by the State Security, making him the seventh documented case of those released from the 11J protests who have been re-incarcerated since January 2025.
The Cuban regime announced in April a pardon for 2,010 prisoners, but explicitly excluded those convicted of sedition, contempt, and public disorder, categories used against the protesters of July 11th.
According to Justicia 11J, there are 775 political prisoners in Cuba, of which 338 were sentenced for participating in the protests of July 11, while Prisoners Defenders recorded a historic high of 1,250 political prisoners at the end of March 2026.
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