Related videos:
The Cuban writer and journalist Jorge Fernández Era announced that he and his wife, Laideliz Herrera Laza, have formalized their application for political asylum in Spain, after several months residing in Valencia and more than two and a half years of systematic repression by the Cuban regime.
The couple has been in Spain since March 29, 2026, when they landed in Madrid, putting an end to a long ordeal that included arbitrary detentions, house arrest, travel bans, and physical assaults by State Security agents.
The journey to the formal appointment was not easy. On April 22 and 29, the couple made over 60 unsuccessful calls to the Immigration Office to secure an appointment to start the process.
It was on May 6, while they were traveling by bus to Lisbon, that his wife managed to get in touch with an official from the National Police Corps and secure the appointment.
The appearance took place at three-thirty in the afternoon on Zapadores Street 52, in the Valencian neighborhood of Quatre Carreres, two days after their Schengen visa had expired and on the date when an Air Europa ticket would have returned them to Cuba.
Fernández Era revealed that this date was not a coincidence: on May 26, he publicly announced that he would return to the island on June 2, a deliberate strategy to mislead the State Security Directorate (DSE).
"I needed to give work to the DSE, to occupy the lives of its undefeated fighters in figuring out where the convoy that will take us back to Cuba will enter," he wrote on Facebook.
The harassment from the regime had been relentless until the very end. On March 28, 2026, at José Martí airport, State Security agents confiscated his identity card and subjected him to a thorough inspection before allowing him to board the flight.
The repression against Fernández Era began on April 6, 2023, when he was arrested while heading to the UNEAC to apply for visas.
Since then, he faced charges of "Disobedience," "Sedition," and "Defamation against officials of the armed institutions," offenses that exposed him to a possible life sentence.
In July 2025, a lieutenant colonel from State Security physically assaulted him at the Zanja Unit; the writer published images of the injuries.
In November 2025, the Cuban Prosecutor's Office suspended the criminal proceedings and annulled the precautionary measures, but the harassment did not stop. In January 2026, he was detained for more than 15 hours in Havana while attempting to peacefully protest in Parque Central.
Since arriving in Spain, Fernández Era has maintained his activism. He participated in the forum "For the Cuba of Tomorrow," organized by Diario de Cuba in Madrid, although he could not attend the final day due to asylum-related procedures.
It has also continued its peaceful monthly protests from Valencia.
After attending the appointment, the writer was unequivocal: "The important thing is that no one can expel us from Spain anymore, and that we will likely receive the benefits of political asylum in the coming days."
Filed under: