The State Security interrogated independent journalist Austin Llerandi, director of the community media outlet Amanecer Habanero, for more than an hour at the Marianao police station, and threatened to imprison him for directing and distributing the newsletter of that outlet.
According to a report by the organization Ciudadanía y Libertad on their social media, the case was documented by the Cuban Observatory for Freedom of Expression (OCLE) of the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (ICLEP). The interrogation took place on Tuesday, July 14, at that police facility in the Havana municipality.
The agent identified as Rodrigo showed Llerandi a criminal file opened in his name and warned him that he would face charges for alleged crimes against state security, without any formal accusation or transparent judicial process.
The most disturbing threat of the interrogation pointed directly at the journalist’s family: the officer referred to Llerandi's wife's pregnancy and warned him: “If you distribute the bulletin, the next time I call, give your wife a kiss on the belly, because you're going to jail.”
The pressure had begun on Monday, July 13, when the same agent showed up at Llerandi's father's home to locate him, making it clear that the authorities knew the couple's address and their visits to the hospital due to the pregnancy.
The State Security also claimed during the interrogation that they had identified and monitored other members of Amanecer Habanero, including their addresses and usual movements, which represents a sign of systematic surveillance against the entire team of the media outlet.
Amanecer Habanero is part of the ICLEP network, the only operational network of community media in Cuba in over sixty years, which prints and distributes free clandestine newsletters and newspapers in communities of Havana and other provinces. This distribution activity has been a specific target of repression: in March 2026, the media Páginas Villareñas, also part of the ICLEP network, was shut down following a police raid in Villa Clara.
Llerandi has a history of friction with the regime. In June 2022, he posted a photo of his university diploma in a pot of rice on Facebook to highlight economic hardship, which cost him the opportunity to work as a teacher of Spanish and Literature.
In May 2026, he was once again prevented from practicing his profession after publishing a video denouncing the neglect of his former educational institution.
The case is set against a backdrop of documented escalating repression against independent press in Cuba. The ICLEP recorded 157 incidents concerning freedom of expression in May 2026, a 45.4% increase compared to the same month the previous year, with State Security as the main actor in most of the events. In all of 2025, the organization tallied 1,188 violations of freedom of expression, a 54.7% increase from 2024.
Cuba ranks 160th out of 180 countries in the press freedom index by Reporters Without Borders 2026, making it the second worst country in the Americas in this regard.
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