The Cuban activist Amelia Calzadilla responded this Tuesday with a firm statement after it became known that her parents were required to appear at the IV Police Unit of Cerro in Havana at 2:30 p.m. for interrogation by the Cuban State Security.
"I have no regrets; my parents will not be interrogated for my political activism, they will be interrogated because they live as hostages of a tyrannical, bloodthirsty, and criminal dictatorship. This is until the end," wrote Calzadilla on his verified Facebook account, in a public post made approximately one hour before the interrogation.
The summons was delivered to them on July 11, the fifth anniversary of the 11J protests, by two officers—one in plain clothes and one in uniform—directly at their family home in the Cerro neighborhood of Havana.
On reporting the citation on July 12, Calzadilla described it as "psychological torture" and demanded that things be called by their name: "Say that they are going to interrogate two sick elderly people in an attempt to coerce their daughter who is denouncing from abroad and will not stop denouncing the precarious situation that my country is experiencing."
The activist directly held the regime responsible for any consequences: "The State Security, the intelligence agencies, the Cuban dictatorship, and the Communist Party for anything that may happen to my parents."
Calzadilla has been living in Madrid since November 2023, when she left Cuba with her husband and three children after facing political persecution, including the detention of her husband Antonio Díaz in June 2023 as a means of pressure.
From exile, she has intensified her work: she is the coordinator of Citizenship and Freedom programs, a member of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba, and in April 2026, she founded the Cuban Classic Liberal Party.
In April 2026, he visited the European Parliament alongside Carolina Barrero, successfully prompting the European Union to initiate a formal review process of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba.
The tactic of pressuring exiled activists through their most vulnerable family members on the island is a systematic and documented practice. Between March 2023 and June 2024, State Security carried out at least 250 repressive events against the relatives of political prisoners, including 66 women, six elderly individuals, and five minors.
A similar case occurred in March 2026 with the activist Anna Bensi, whose mother was summoned to the Alamar police unit, and both were charged with a possible penalty of two to five years in prison.
Four UN Special Rapporteurs denounced this pattern on March 31, 2026 as “one of the most serious forms of structural repression” of the Cuban regime.
Calzadilla was unequivocal: "I will not allow anyone to intimidate me, threaten me, or silence me by using my family."
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