Forced disappearance of Manuel Cuesta Morúa reported after his arrest

The Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba (CTDC) denounced this Saturday the forced disappearance of opposition member Manuel Cuesta Morúa following his violent arrest by State Security agents and police officers in Havana, with no official information about his whereabouts provided to his family or close friends.

The arrest took place this morning at the Zanja police unit in Centro Habana, where Cuesta Morúa went after receiving a call from someone identifying themselves as First Lieutenant Lázaro Aroche, an alleged officer of Criminal Instruction, who ordered him to report to that facility.

Upon arrival, five police officers and two State Security agents were waiting for him. According to the complaint from the CTDC, "Manuel Cuesta Morúa was restrained, handcuffed, and forcibly taken to a police vehicle. During the arrest, violence was used to get him into the patrol car."

María Mercedes Benítez, who accompanied the opposition member to the summons, publicly protested upon witnessing the arrest and declared that Cuesta Morúa "was not a criminal or a killer, but rather a peaceful opposition member and defender of human rights."

A police officer threatened to jail her if she did not stop, and later they forced her to return inside the station, where they asked for her documentation and personal information.

The authorities did not inform Benítez of the location to which the detainee was being transferred. The CTDC noted that there are indications, not officially confirmed, that Cuesta Morúa may have been taken to Villa Marista or the penal instruction center known as 100 y Aldabó, both facilities of the Ministry of the Interior historically associated with the detention and interrogation of political prisoners under incommunicado conditions.

This detention occurs one day after State Security surrounded Benítez's home, where Cuesta Morúa was also present, and formally delivered the summons for 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. At that time, the opposition figure declared that he would not attend, but ultimately he did show up.

The CTDC described the operation as part of "a pattern of surveillance, harassment, and persecution," and directly held the Cuban regime responsible for the physical and psychological integrity of the detainee.

"We hold the Cuban regime and the State Security agencies responsible for the physical and psychological integrity of Manuel Cuesta Morúa while he remains deprived of his freedom and is missing," stated the organization.

Cuesta Morúa, sociologist, philosopher, and historian associated with the Cuban Social Democratic Current, has been presiding over the CTDC since February 2026. His history of repression includes detentions in September 2021, January 2022, and July 2022, in addition to mobility restrictions imposed since 2019.

The CTDC demanded immediate information about the whereabouts of the opposition member, guarantees for his safety, communication with his family, access to legal assistance, and his release. The organization concluded its denunciation with three words: "This is repression."