A resident of Santiago who took part in the protests on July 11, 2021 decided to break the silence this Saturday, the fifth anniversary of that day, after recognizing himself in a commemorative video shared on social media by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, contacted Mayeta Labrada via WhatsApp after seeing his own image among the scenes of the protests in Santiago de Cuba.
"This is me," he wrote upon recognizing himself in the images.
In that same exchange, he revealed the penalty he received for going out that day: "I was given a $6,000 fine and 1 year of house arrest."
His testimony describes a peaceful participation. "I went out to demand freedom, bread, and respect. I didn't break anything, I didn't shout hate. Yet, they arrested me and marked me forever," he recounted under the condition of anonymity.
The case pertains to a less documented aspect of the repression following 11J: minor administrative and criminal penalties—fines and house arrests—that did not make headlines but left profound scars on those who endured them.
The protagonist himself points out that his story was never covered by the official Cuban press nor was it publicly recorded among the numerous cases arising from the protests.
Mayeta Labrada, creator of the project "Kuba x Dentro" and whose deportation process was dismissed on July 3, 2026, by a U.S. immigration court, invites other victims to share their experiences confidentially through her page or via WhatsApp.
"Your testimony matters. Memory is also built with your voice," wrote the journalist when publishing the case of the anonymous Santiago resident, whose story illustrates that the repression of 11J had dimensions that remain in the shadows even today.
The 11J protests of 2021 were the largest anti-government demonstrations in Cuba since 1959, with thousands of people in over 60 locations.
Santiago de Cuba was one of the main epicenters of that day, to which the regime responded with violence: Díaz-Canel publicly ordered, "the order for combat has been given."
The subsequent judicial repression was extensive: more than 1,400 people were detained across the country, with sentences of up to 15 years in prison.
Five years later, at least 338 people remain imprisoned specifically for their participation in the 11J, according to data from May 2026 from the organization Prisoners Defenders.
The pardon announced in April 2026 for more than 2,000 inmates explicitly excluded those convicted of "crimes against authority," the category used to criminalize protesters.
In that context, this anniversary arrives laden with tension: Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, whose five-year sentence ended on July 9, 2026, was not released and was transferred to an unknown location on July 7.
Days before the anniversary, the authorities in Santiago de Cuba distributed rice and chicken, in what activists interpreted as an attempt at social control in response to the accumulated discontent.
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