Cuban activist Amelia Calzadilla responded this Tuesday with a firm statement after it was reported that her parents were required to appear at the IV Police Unit of Cerro in Havana at 2:30 p.m. to be interrogated by the Cuban State Security.
"I have no regrets, my parents will not be interrogated because of my political activism, they will be interrogated because they live as hostages of a tyrannical, bloody, 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 citation was delivered to them on July 11, the fifth anniversary of the 11J protests, by two agents—one in civilian clothes and one in uniform—directly at the family home in the Cerro neighborhood of Havana.
On denouncing the citation on July 12, Calzadilla described it as "psychological torture" and demanded that things be called by their proper names: "Say that they are going to interrogate two sick elderly people to try to coerce their daughter who is denouncing from abroad and will not stop denouncing the precariousness that my country is experiencing."
The activist directly blamed the regime for any consequences: "The State Security, the intelligence, the Cuban dictatorship, and the Communist Party for anything that may happen to my parents."
Calzadilla has been residing in Madrid since November 2023, when she left Cuba with her husband and three children after experiencing political persecution, including the detention of her husband Antonio Díaz in June 2023 as a means of pressure.
From exile, she has intensified her efforts: she is the coordinator of Citizenship and Freedom programs, a member of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba, and in May 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 more 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.
An analogous case occurred in March 2026 involving the activist Anna Bensi, whose mother was summoned to the Alamar police unit, and both were charged with crimes that could lead to a prison sentence of two to five years.
Four UN Special Rapporteurs denounced this pattern on March 31, 2026, as "one of the most serious forms of structural repression" by the Cuban regime.
Calzadilla was emphatic: "I will not allow anyone to intimidate me, threaten me, or silence me by using my family."
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